Young Turks
by Dreamchylde
Summary: Ever wonder how Starscream, Thundercracker & Skywarp met? A deeper look into what makes the trio tick, how the friends met and their quest to become the 'best of the best'. Does contain some violence.
1. The Beginning

A/N: _TF:TM was in bad taste and my take on the Transformer Universe doesn't include that at all. (What is the point of killing off some of the best characters?!) It's my belief that the three Seekers, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp, are very good friends and have probably known each other since they were young. (Why else would Starscream put up with all the crap TC and 'Warp give him?) So here is my take on how they met. The story will be from the point of view of all three, how they grew up, what influenced their personalities, how they fought for the status of 'Seeker' (and what the position and history behind the term means -evil grin-) and how they ended up joining the Decepticons._

_All constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms! _Please Rate and Review and please let me know if you like this storyline!

Definition: The Young Turks originated from the secret societies of progressive university students and military cadets. They adopted liberal ideas which meant conflicts with the status quo. The term 'young turk' is used to describe individuals inside an organization who are more progressive and seek prominence and power

**Young Turks**

**Chapter 1** – Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp - The Beginning

It was a small yet noisy neighborhood off of a louder main thoroughfare in Iacon, where the buildings were stacked one on top of the others in a mess of cheap housing. The family was not very well off, and with the war just ending, jobs and housing were a luxury. They had moved to the city and into the small apartment after his father-creator was offered a modest job. His mother-creator had been working as a teacher, supporting the family on her meager wages in Kaon before they moved to Iacon. With his mother-creator gone most of the day at her teaching job, the youngling was left alone with his father-creator who had no desire to raise a sparkling. The cramped quarters of their old home still scared the youngling; things would happen when he and his father-creator were forced to be that near each other. Bad things.

Life had improved with his father-creator at work and his mother-creator taking care of him, but there were far too many days when she would shove him out the door with a few data pads after his father-creator came home. His mother-creator's sad purple optics haunted the young sparkling, as she would hand him the pads and whisper that he needed to learn everything he possibly could to escape from their current situation. Which is why he took to sitting on the titanium front stoop with his data pads, reading everything she downloaded for him. The street was fairly busy with mechanoids passing through almost constantly at all hours, traveling to and from work and home. With so many people around, it was difficult for his father-creator to take his aggressions out on the red sparkling.

It was a day like any other and he was sitting on the stoop digesting a text on the anatomy of mechanoids, when he felt like he was being watched. He looked up from the data pad and gazed up and down the street; no one was paying any attention to him as they walked by his stoop. He shrugged and went back to reading. A few minutes later, the sensation returned, but instead of lifting his head, he scouted the area around him just using his optics. There was nothing out of the ordinary to the right of him, just people moving along. His optics drifted to the left scanning the street carefully, and he found a set of purple optics peeking at him from a window. He lifted his head slowly and turned to look at the optics, but they were gone in a flash. This game of staring, as it were, happened a few more times that afternoon and continued for the next few days as well.

One morning a few days later, when he was shoved out the door earlier than normal, he finally got a good look at the youngling. He was playing by himself on the stoop of his home a few doors down. He had a set of model fliers that he would swoop back and forth in some imaginary battle. This time he stared at the youngling, who was a light blue mech with purple optics and about the same age as him, wondering why he wasn't studying and why he was playing by himself. It only took a few moments before the blue youngling realized he was being watched; he turned slowly and met the stare before running up the steps and into his home, slamming the door shut. Once the staring contests stopped and the red mech went back to studying, the blue youngling stayed outside and played by his lonesome, not leaving the bottom step of the stoop.

And so, this quiet acceptance of each other continued, the two recognizing the other's habits and silently keeping their distance.

Unbeknownst to them, there was another set of optics carefully watching the two in their strange habitats. He kept a silent observation of the two mechs for a few days, monitoring their behavior closely and planning his attack. The two goody-goodies would be an easy target for him, and he relished the idea of the upcoming 'war' he was going to start.

--

It was a normal day for the two younglings, each in their accepted element as the world passed by when the 'war' began. He snuck quietly along the buildings, his 'ammunition' ready for the attack, as he closed the distance between himself and the red mech on the stoop. _He won't know what hit him_, the stalker smirked to himself. A few feet from the stoop, he ducked down and slid along the wall and counted down quietly, 3, 2, 1. "YARGH!" He threw the energon bomb at the red mech, splashing the thick liquid all over him and covering the data pad. He allowed himself a nano-second to enjoy the mayhem before he blinked away from the stoop and over to the blue mech, throwing his other energon bomb at the unsuspecting youngling. He laughed loudly and tore off down the street, running as fast as his little legs could take him.

The red youngling had barely registered the black mech that attacked him when he heard the yelp from the blue mech who was attacked in the same way. Their assailant had run away as quickly as he attacked, laughing as he skidded around the corner of the street. The youngling looked at his soiled data pad and tried to wipe the viscous liquid off the screen as the loud slamming of a door echoed from across the street. He just shook his head and continued to wipe the energon off of him.

The attacker was now peeking around the corner at his prey, somewhat amused and somewhat disappointed. It was hilarious to see their expressions, and even funnier to hear the blue mech yell; but neither tried to chase him down or take any action against him. His little face screwed up in a mischievous smirk, he needed a better attack to get them… and he had a slew of ideas on just how.

--

The very next day, the status quo of the street had returned; the red mech was back on his stoop reading while the blue mech was playing with his fliers quietly on his. The blue youngling was more nervous than usual, peeking up and looking around the street every few minutes. The red mech watched the other's actions carefully, using the other youngling's vigilance as an early warning signal if there was going to be another attack. He was slightly annoyed at being surprised and coated with energon and he wasn't exactly sure what he'd do if the attacker returned, but he decided to worry about that if it happened again.

He was watching the other mech while he scanned the street for their assailant when they were attacked; this time the nervous blue mech was coated by a bucket of energon dumped from the rooftop. The red youngling's optics were on the rooftop instantly, trying to see which way the attacker was running, when he was hit with a bucketful of energon as well. There was snickering coming from above, but it stopped as the red youngling wiped the pink goo from his face. The mech across the street was looking at him now, and a silent agreement was made between them: this meant war.

The black youngling was peeking around the corner at the two he attacked, snickering happily as they tried to clean the energon off. _That was a great idea._ He turned and started to skip down the street with two empty buckets swinging back and forth in his hands.

--

The next morning, the red mech sat in a different spot on his stoop; he was closer to the street and with a blank data pad, ready to pounce when the trickster tried to attack again. The blue youngling across the street followed his lead and both nodded silently to each other, acknowledging their readiness to get the attacker back. They waited patiently, both seemingly lost in playing and reading, but they were watching the area carefully, with the red mech reaching up and stretching occasionally, checking the rooftops for danger.

The stalker was keeping a close optic on the two, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. His father-creator was not happy about all the energon that had been used in the pranks, so a slight change in tactics was needed. His weapons this time weren't the crude bombs or splashing buckets. This time he was using the big guns: big grease guns. The youngling giggled as he checked over his newest weapons making sure they were armed and ready for the attack before ducking and sliding around the corner. His first target today was the blue mech again; his reactions to being surprised were the best.

The red mech caught sight of their attacker and dropped his data pad, which got the attention of the blue youngling. They made optic contact and the red youngling silently warned that the attacker was closing in on the other's position. They shared a smirk as the data pad was retrieved and both younglings got ready to pounce on their attacker.

The guns were at his side as he neared his target, who looked like he was playing by himself, still oblivious to the world around. The stalker moved in for the kill sliding along the last few feet of the wall. Little did the attacker know, that the red mech had set the data pad down and was slowly crossing the street, silently dodging the people that were walking past. The guns came over the edge of the stoop only to be kicked away as the blue mech launched himself at the assailant. The force of the tackle knocked the black mech to the ground, the guns falling to the side as a blue fist met with the youngling's chin. He tried to push the blue mech off of him when they were both tackled by the red mech. A scuffle ensued and the two attackee's turned the tables on their attacker - both red and blue mechs had grabbed a gun and proceeded to coat the black mech with a thick layer of grease.

A few minutes later, all three sat on the ground panting with assorted wounds from the fight and splattered with grease. The red and blue mechs glared at the black mech, who sat there grinning with energon bleeding from his split lip. "'Bout time you two did somethin' other than sit there."

Two sets of purple optics narrowed and the red mech frowned. "Do you want more than a busted lip?"

The black mech stuck his tongue out, "You and what army, you nerdy glitch-mouse?"

The red mech's optics widened and his voice went up an octave, "I'm not a glitch-mouse! You take that back!"

"Nope. I call them as I see them, and you're a whiney glitch-mouse!"

"Take that back!" The youngling's voice went up again.

"Glitch-mouse."

"Take that back!" The red mech screeched.

"Glitch-mouse, glitch-mouse, glitch-mouuuuuuuuuussssssssseeeeeeee!" The most mischievous smirk spread across the black mech's face.

"Take that back, you lousy Pit-spawned sparkling!"

"Who you callin' a sparkling?" The smirk was gone.

"'I call them as I see them'." The red mech was sticking his tongue out now.

The blue mech who had been silently watching the two bicker was grinning and trying to stifle a giggle.

The black mech glared at the blue, "What are you laughing at, robo-chicken?"

"Your ugly face-plate. Was your mother-creator drunk on high-grade when she sparked you?"

The red mech started to snicker, which earned him a glare from the black mech. "Pfft! I don't have time for you two sparklings." He moved to pick up the discarded guns, but the other two grabbed them quickly and aimed at the black mech. The youngling scowled and turned to walk down the street.

Both blue and red younglings grinned at each other and at the retreating mech. "Hey Pit-spawn! What's your name?"

The black mech turned back to face the others and snorted. "Shadowdancer."

Optic ridges rose curiously. "Shadow-?"

"-Dancer?"

He put his hands on his hips and gave them a smug look. "Yep, 'cuz I dance in the shadows."

The blue and red mechs looked at each other in disbelief.

"Sounds like a femme's name." The red one smirked.

The black youngling snarled, launching himself at the others and they scuffled on the sidewalk again. But the mech was overpowered by the red and blue mechs and they held him down. "Surrender?"

"Not to you two glitch-mice."

There was a grease gun instantly in his face and the blue youngling smirked. "Surrender or eat grease."

"Never!"

A look was passed between the two and the blue mech started to squirt grease on the black youngling. "Surrender?"

He tried to turn away from the nozzle of the gun. "Okay! I give."

They let him up slowly as he wiped the grease off his face. He eyed both of them as they shared a very smug look. "What are your names?"

The blue mech handed the grease gun back to the youngling. "Thundercracker."

"Starscream." The red mech crossed his arms over his chest. "What's your _real_ name?"

The black youngling looked at the grease gun and smirked mischievously as he aimed at the other two. "Skywarp."

--

A/N: _Like it? Hate it? Please let me know!_


	2. Grease Gun WarHeroes

**Chapter 2** – Grease Gun War-Heroes

Starscream sat down on the front stoop with his stack of data pads for the day and started reading. Thundercracker wasn't outside yet, and the red mech wondered if the quiet blue mech would go back to playing by himself or come over and ask him to play. He never really had anyone to play with before and Starscream found himself hoping that Thundercracker would come over and at least talk to him. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Skywarp. Two days of having energon covering him and a huge grease fight had made the red mech suspicious of Skywarp and his antics.

Starscream tried to focus on his reading about protoforms, but his mind kept wandering and he kept looking over at the building where Thundercracker lived hoping the mech would come outside soon. He sighed and reread the same sentence that he'd been staring at for the past few kliks. He was able to read a few more lines down the page when he suddenly felt like he wasn't alone on the stoop…

"YARRGHH!"

Starscream jumped off the stoop with a shriek as his neatly stacked data pads tumbled down the stairs. The red mech held a hand over his spark, rapidly gulping large amounts of air through his intakes and glaring at the madly giggling mech who was now sitting in his spot.

The black mech was nearly falling over from laughing and pointing at the startled Starscream, thoroughly enjoying the reaction he got from the red mech. "You should have seen your face! And you screamed just like a femme!" The young mech finally tottered onto his side, laughing at the red mech's expense.

"That's not funny." Starscream growled and started to pick up his data pads.

"Oh yes it was, 'Screamer. You nearly emptied your fuel tank!"

"Did not." He stomped up the steps and glared at the black mech. "You're in my spot."

Skywarp looked around him for a moment before grinning impishly at Starscream. "I don't see your name on it."

"That's my spot. I always sit there." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well you aren't sitting here now." There was a mischievous smirk sliding across Skywarp's face as he stretched out across the step. "It's a pretty comfy spot."

Starscream sat down next to the offending mech with a snort and socked him in the arm. "Don't get too comfortable, the moment you get up I'm taking it back."

"I think I'll stay here forever, then."

"You can't stay on the step forever. You'll have to go home and recharge at some point." Starscream organized his stack of data pads and set them down on the step below him.

The mischievous look never left the black mech's face. "Nope. I'll recharge right here and you can bring me energon when you come out to do your nerdy stuff."

"I'm not going to bring you anything and I didn't invite you to sit on my step." He picked up the data pad he had been reading and glared at Skywarp. "Don't you have someone else to go terrorize?"

"Nope. You and that other guy are taking up my entire agenda this week." And as if on cue, Thundercracker's front door opened and he came outside. Skywarp jumped up suddenly and purposely knocked Starscream's data pads all over the stoop again. "HEY, THUNDERCRACKER! COME OVER HERE!"

Starscream, after quickly grabbing the data pads, pushed the annoying black mech off his step and sat down, a triumphant look spreading across his face.

Skywarp snickered and waved to Thundercracker again, who was cautiously making his way across the street.

The blue mech thought Starscream was a little on the geeky side, but he didn't trust Skywarp as far as he could throw him. He stopped at the bottom of the steps and folded his arms over his chest. "What do you want?"

Skywarp sat down next to Starscream and put an arm around his shoulders, with a disturbing grin. "We're going hunting today."

Starscream shoved the black mech and scowled while Skywarp picked up the data pads and held them out of the red mech's reach, shoving his hand into the face of the agitated mech. "'Screamer and I are going hunting and we want you to come too."

Starscream punched Skywarp and got up off the step to get his data pads back, to which the black mech scooted over smoothly into the 'coveted' spot on the step with a snicker.

Thundercracker eyed the two cautiously: Skywarp was snickering as the obviously tormented Starscream screeched and kicked at the offending mech. He shook his head and turned around, heading back for his own quiet side of the street; one that was devoid of the pranks of the black mech and the geeky squealing red mech.

Starscream stopped fighting with Skywarp as Thundercracker started to walk away. "Wait! Thundercracker! Come back. Don't leave me with him!" His small dream of being able to play with the quiet blue mech was quickly disappearing.

Thundercracker turned around and looked at the two, Starscream looking frazzled and Skywarp doing his best to pester the red mech and grin at the same time. They _were_ the only other mechs in the neighborhood his age. He walked back over to them; Skywarp was grinning even more and Starscream was looking relieved. He crossed his small arms over his chest again. "So how do we play this hunting thing of yours?"

Two hours later…

"I don't know if this is such a good idea, Starscream." Thundercracker looked at the red mech next to him warily; both of them were nearly covered from head to toe in grease. Skywarp's idea of 'hunting' had started out as a three-way grease gun fight, but the rotten sparkling took the upper hand by attacking both repeatedly and teleporting away.

Starscream gave a pleading look to the greasy blue mech hiding with him in a small nook in a nearby alleyway. "He'll just keep ambushing us unless we team up. With two sets of optics searching for him, he'll have less of a chance to attack."

A wry smile crossed the shy blue mech's face. "And have you turn your gun on me the moment I turn around? I don't think so."

"I could have shot you twenty times over by now if I was lying, Thundercracker." The red mech said exasperatedly. "If you don't want to team up, then that's fine. But don't come crawling back to me when you can't even hold your gun up anymore." He let out a long sigh and slumped to the floor. "I shouldn't even be doing this. I should be reading and not worrying about that dumb sparkling and his stupid games."

Thundercracker held his grease gun up to Starscream's face and squirted him with a laugh.

The red mech pushed the gun out of his face and pouted. "I don't want to play this stupid game anymore."

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad." Thundercracker took aim at the whiney red mech.

Starscream sighed loudly. "Quit it. I don't want to play anymore."

Thundercracker put the grease gun to Starscream's temple and pressed the trigger repeatedly, barely able to contain his sniggering as the grease dripped down the grumpy mech's cheek.

Starscream gave another martyred sigh and struggled to his feet, slipping and sliding back down a few times. "I'm going home."

"Aw, come on. I'll team up with you, okay 'Screamer?"

"Stop calling me that." The red mech sulked.

"We'll go hunt for Skywarp and tag team him, okay?" Thundercracker stood in Starscream's way, trying to get his new friend to keep playing Skywarp's inane hunting game.

The brooding red mech looked at Thundercracker only to see Skywarp's grinning mug and grease gun appearing right behind him.

"Get down!" Starscream's grease gun was up instantly; the viscous liquid was in the air and moving towards the two targets.

Then the air split as if Primus had brought down his holy judgment on their little war game.

Both Skywarp and Starscream were on their afts, blinking rapidly and trying to grasp what had just happened and why their audio receptors were threatening to explode.

Eddies of dust floated down around the trio and there were angry shouts coming from the street beyond. The midair shots of grease seemed to have been completely obliterated. Skywarp's purple optics were wide in utter confusion as he scrubbed at his audios and all but shouted, "What the slag was that?!"

Thundercracker grinned nervously at the two mechs at his sides.

It only took a moment for them to realize that the blue mech was still standing and didn't seem to be fazed by what had happened at all.

"You did that!" Starscream pointed at Thundercracker incredulously realizing that a sonic boom had hit them; and that it came from the shy yet silly blue mech.

The blue mech shrugged and gave another nervous laugh as he turned his grease gun on Skywarp and started to shoot him in the face. "Not supposed to do it in the city."

The three walked back down the street awhile later after a long battle that ensued in the alleyway; all three grease guns were now spent, and each mech was so covered in goo that any onlooker would not be able to tell which mech was which. Skywarp was talking animatedly about how this was the best battle he had ever been in and if there was a history of the best grease gun wars, that battle would be the most remembered.

Starscream stopped in the middle on the sidewalk, leaving a halo of drip marks around him. "How many grease gun fights have you been in, Skywarp?"

The other two stopped and Thundercracker turned to look at the greasy black mech, who just grinned impishly. "Other than me ambushing you two yesterday? Two."

Thundercracker just shook his head. "You are one warped mech, 'Warp."

The black mech's optics widened as the mischievous grin plastered itself across the young mech's face in delight at his new nickname. He threw a greasy arm over Starscream's shoulders. "'Screamer and 'Warp, battle-hardened comrades!"

The greasy red mech rolled his optics and tried to pull away from Skywarp. "Stop calling me that."

Skywarp held on to him and stared at Thundercracker. "We need to find a nickname for Thundercracker, 'Screamer, help me think of one!"

Starscream gave another martyred sigh; no matter how much he protested, the others wouldn't stop calling him that. He looked at the strange mech who was now hanging on him and smirked, Skywarp's face was scrunched up as he tried to think up a nickname for Thundercracker. "Thinking isn't your strong suit, is it 'Warp?"

The black mech shot him a dirty look and whapped him in the back of the head. "If you're so smart then you think up a nickname."

Starscream looked at the greasy blue mech who was now grinning at him and the deranged mech that still clung to his shoulders. Given this shy mech's ability to create sonic booms, he realized the name 'Thundercracker' fit the blue mech perfectly. "How about we just call him TC?"

Skywarp clapped the red mech on the shoulders hard and pulled him over to the blue mech, tossing his other arm over his shoulders and proclaimed loudly to the air. "'Screamer, TC and 'Warp! Grease gun war heroes!"

Thundercracker shrugged with a smile and put his arm over the black mech's shoulders as they started back down the street. "Just remember that this 'war hero' kicked both of your afts."

Skywarp shot him a scandalous glance. "You did not!"

"Oh please. You nearly emptied your fuel tank in the alley, 'Warp." Thundercracker teased him.

"Did not!"

Starscream grinned. "You did too, 'Warp. You looked like you had just seen the Unmaker in that alley and were nano-seconds from emptying your fuel tank."

Skywarp tried to shove him, but the red mech shoved back, forcing him to knock into Thundercracker, to which the blue mech retaliated. The three kept arguing and shoving each other as they made their happy and still grease-covered way down the street.

_And thus the lifelong friendship between the three was born_.

--

_A/N: If you like my strange little tale about the young Seekers, please Rate and Review it! Creative criticism welcomed, but be warned that the youngling Seekers have reloaded their grease guns and are looking for new targets :D_


	3. Beware of Bored Younglings

A/N: _I believe that some of the more neurotic tendencies come from things that happen in childhood, and I'm starting to introduce those ideas into the story, how else could you explain Starscream's neurotic nature and Skywarp's ADHD? Constructive criticism is always welcomed, please rate and review if you like the story and beware of little Seekers with grease guns!_

**Chapter 3** – Beware of Bored Younglings

Skywarp was sprawled across the steps watching a line of ant-droids march along the sidewalk. "Can't you read any faster?"

"I could if you'd stop asking every astro-second." Starscream growled and tried to go back to reading the data pad on spark transfers.

Skywarp let out a long exasperated sigh. "This is sooooooo boring." He looked over at Thundercracker who was mesmerized by the fliers that performed high above them in the Cybertronian skies. Even if he could draw Thundercracker's attention away from the fliers, he wouldn't really help him pester Starscream. He flopped onto his side and pushed the stack of data pads over, scattering them down the stoop, "Why are you reading that anyway?"

Starscream picked up the scattered data pads and glared at Skywarp, "So I can get into the Iacon Science Academy. Now will you shut up and let me finish?"

The black mech let out another loud sigh as he shifted around on the stoop and started to poke Starscream with his foot, "Can't you read that later?"

The red mech sighed, grabbing Skywarp's foot and shoving it away, only to have the annoying mech move in closer and poke him more insistently.

Starscream turned on Skywarp and snarled. "Will. You. Stop. Doing. That!"

"No. Read your nerdy stuff later and let's play now."

"I can't. I'm already behind in my reading."

"So?"

Starscream let out a martyred sigh and scooted away from Skywarp's poking foot. "Just let me read a bit more and we'll play, alright?"

"I guess…"

"Thank you."

"Meh… I don't understand why you're doing all this nerdy stuff now. It's not like you're going to the academy tomorrow. You have like a hundred billion deca-cycles until you're old enough to go."

"It's not a hundred billion deca-cycles, you glitch-mouse." Starscream rolled his optics. "And if you want to get into the Academy too, you better start studying."

"I don't want to go to the dumb Science Academy."

"Then what are you going to do? Play games and prank people your whole life?"

Skywarp grinned. "I would if I could, but I'm going to be a great warrior when I grow up."

"Idiot, the war is over."

"So?" The black mech sat up quickly. "My father-creator says every era needs warriors to defend against invasions and uprisings."

Starscream shook his head. "You will still have to go to the University for your basic training, and you'll have to pass the exams before you can enter the Fighting Academy."

"So?"

Starscream put his data pad down, "So?' You'll be stuck in the first deca-mesters forever if you don't start studying now."

Skywarp balled his little hands into fists and faked a punch at the exasperated red mech. "I'm an old pro at fighting, I don't need to study."

"You're an idiot, 'Warp. It's not fighting that you'll be studying in the first deca-mesters."

"So? If I need anything other than these," he nodded to his small fists. "I'll just rely on you two for the answers."

Starscream rolled his optics again and tried to go back to his data pad.

Skywarp was quiet for a few wonderful minutes as he stood up and shadow boxed his way around the stoop. He stopped behind the silent Thundercracker, who was still enthralled with the fliers, and started to flick him in the back of the head. "What about you, TC? Are you going to the _Science Academy_ to be a nerd like 'Screamer?" Skywarp stuck his nose up in the air and added a snooty tone to his mischievous voice.

Thundercracker swatted Skywarp's flicking hand away, "No."

The black mech sat down quickly next to his quiet friend, "Are you going to come with me and be a great warrior?"

"No."

Skywarp frowned and gave a sharp shove to Thundercracker, "What are you going to do then, huh?"

The silent blue mech looked at Skywarp for a moment before turning his attention back to the sky above and the circling fliers, "I'm going to fly."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

One optic ridge rose on Skywarp's face, "You're just going to fly? No fighting or anything else?"

"Yep."

Little purple optics narrowed. "But 'Screamer says you have to the University for training before you can do anything else." He turned and stuck his tongue out at the red mech, who was pretending to read as he listened to the others.

"I know."

"But you have to study like nerdy 'Screamer."

"Who says I'm not studying?"

"Uhm, me? You're sitting here watching the fliers and we're going to play whenever the nerdy glitch-mouse is done with reading his boring stuff." Skywarp leaned into his friend and poked him in the arm, "Did you do all your nerdy stuff before you came outside?"

"No." With his optics still on the fliers above, Thundercracker gave little attention to his pestering friend.

Skywarp looked thoroughly confused, "So when do you study, if you actually do the nerdy reading and stuff."

"At night. I watch the flier patrols and study between their sweeps."

Skywarp flopped back on the stoop with a belabored sigh, "My two best friends are nerds."

Starscream snorted in laugher, "Are you jealous that TC is smart and you're just a pain in the aft?"

Skywarp rolled his optics, "You're both boring. B-O-R-I-N-G."

"I'm impressed, 'Warp. I didn't think you could spell anything." Starscream gave the black mech a mischievous smirk.

"I can too spell anything."

Thundercracker made a choking noise and Starscream bent over his data pad, as both tried not to laugh out loud at Skywarp. The black mech caught on to why they were stifling giggles; he tried to punch at Thundercracker, but the blue mech scooted away. Skywarp crossed his arms over his chest and fumed. Some friends they were for picking on him.

Thundercracker grinned at the pouting Skywarp before turning his attention back to the fliers.

Starscream smiled and went back to reading the data pad quietly, thankful that Skywarp was effectively shot down and hopefully quiet for the next few nano-seconds.

The black youngling sighed and went back to watching the marching ant-droids. He vowed that when he grew up, he'd kick their nerdy afts all over Cybertron. His mischievous smirk came back as he pictured himself kicking Starscream around. He'd get that nerdy red mech good for making fun of him. But Thundercracker would be more difficult to catch if he was a flier. He shot a nasty glance at the mesmerized mech; he'd have to become a flier too if he was to catch him and kick his aft. He had entertained the thought of being a flier before since his father-creator was a flier in the war. And that was all it took for Skywarp, he would become a warrior _and_ a flier and kick both Starscream's and Thundercracker's afts across the face of Cybertron.

Thundercracker felt the heated glare from Skywarp, "Still trying to think of a comeback, 'Warp?"

Purple optics narrowed, "No. I'm thinking how good it will feel when I kick both of your afts when I'm a warrior and a flier."

The blue mech turned to his angry friend, "You're going to fight _and_ fly? Are you sure you can do both at once? It would be sad if you overclocked your CPU and fell out of the sky."

Starscream dropped his data pad as he busted up laughing; Thundercracker was grinning madly as Skywarp glared daggers back at him. The red mech reached out to retrieve the data pad only to have an angry Skywarp kick it down the stairs.

"Frag you two. I hate you both." Skywarp stood up quickly and sneered at the two laughing mechs, "I don't know why I even bother to play with you two nerdy glitch-mice, I'm going home." He spun quickly on his heel and stomped down the steps.

Starscream and Thundercracker shared a grin at Skywarp's retreating form, "Too bad you're going home, 'Warp. I had just finished my studying." The red mech pushed the neatly stacked pile of data pads to the side of the steps, "So, TC. What to you want to do today?" Starscream said loud enough for the pouting black mech to hear.

"Hmmm. Well, we could pretend we're fliers and _attack people on the street with the grease guns_." Thundercracker's voice took on a sing-song quality as they tempted the black mech.

Skywarp stopped in his tracks, his arms at his sides and his fists opening and closing quickly. Thundercracker's idea was a really good one and it sounded like it would be so much _fun_… He turned and stomped back to the two grinning mechs with his optics on the ground, "Can I play too?"

"I'll go get the grease guns." Thundercracker bolted across the street to his home quickly.

Starscream looked at the still angry black mech, "You know we're just teasing you, 'Warp."

Skywarp shuffled uneasily, "Yeah."

The red mech rolled his optics and shook his head. Seeing his cocky friend so upset over a few comments made Starscream feel bad. He gave a playful punch to Skywarp, "I'll try to get most of my studying done at night like TC so we can play more."

Skywarp's wide purple optics looked up at Starscream, as his mischievous grin spread across his face. He grabbed Starscream's arm suddenly and dragged the surprised mech across the street. "Let's scare TC when he comes out!"

--

Skywarp let Starscream's arm drop as they stood in front of the titanium door to Thundercracker's home; the blue mech hadn't shut it all the way in his hurry to get the grease guns, "Let's go inside and scare him."

"But he'll be right back, 'Warp."

"That's why he won't suspect us being here and scaring him." The black mech pushed the door open grinning manically at Starscream.

"You go scare him, I'll wait out here."

"Don't be a robo-chicken, 'Screamer." Skywarp grabbed the red mech and shoved him through the doorway, "Come on. It'll be great, TC's the most fun to scare." The two crept inside, the black mech pulling the skittish red mech along with him and motioning for him to be silent.

The home was orderly and sparse; there were holo-pictures on the wall of Thundercracker and a smiling blue femme with sleek wings who was proudly displaying a heavily decorated sash glittering with assorted medals across her cockpit. Skywarp's optics went wide at a display box holding the tri-colored flag of Iacon and an array of medals. He leaned in to Starscream as he pointed and whispered hoarsely, "Those are for valor in aerial battles!"

There was a noise in the next room; grinning purple optics and a mischievous smile sent a wave of dread through Starscream. The red mech's fuel pump skipped nervously and his morning energon tried to rebel inside his fuel tank. Skywarp motioned for the red mech to stay silent as they crept to the doorway that led further into the house. The black mech held up three fingers, motioning that they'd jump into the room on a count of three. The black mech leaped into the room shouting and dragging the unwilling Starscream with him, "YARRGH!"

A flash of blue jumped up startled at the shout. Metallic blue that was not Thundercracker. A tall blue femme with sleek wings turned to face the intruders. Skywarp's optics widened in fear and he teleported away, leaving the skittish red mech standing stock still against the doorway.

The femme smiled and put her hands on her hips. She crossed the room silently, her purple optics fixed on the youngling who looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. She looked at the frightened mech with the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile, "And just what are you doing in my home?"

Terrified purple optics threatened to burst from Starscream's face as the femme stared at him. His mouth worked wordlessly a few moments before he managed the smallest, high-pitched, panic-stricken squeak.

The femme knelt down to his level and smiled at the youngling, "You must be Starscream and your disappearing friend must be Skywarp."

The red mech nodded slowly, his voice still hiding somewhere in the octaves that even a turbodog would have difficulty hearing.

"Thundercracker talks about you two a lot." The femme stood up and she tried to pat the petrified youngling on the shoulder. Starscream visibly flinched and the femme looked at him curiously. "So… where did the other one disappear to? Seems cowardly to teleport away leaving you here alone."

Skywarp jumped out from behind the doorway, his purple optics ablaze, "I'm not a coward! 'Screamer could have ran if he wanted to!"

The femme smirked and poked the youngling's nose, "No one will trust a warrior in a battle if he leaves his comrades behind. And trusting your comrades is essential if you want to stay alive."

Skywarp's optics widened in admiration, "You're a warrior!"

Thundercracker had reappeared by then carrying the grease guns. Starscream stood with his back against the wall looking terrified while Skywarp looked up at his mother-creator in awe. The blue mech walked over to the three and waved his hand in front of Starscream's optics, "I think you knocked his CPU into shutdown, 'Warp."

"I didn't…" The femme pointed her finger in his face. "I mean... I didn't mean to. We were just going to scare you, TC."

Thundercracker grinned knowingly as he watched the cocky Skywarp back peddle in front of his mother-creator.

The femme looked at the grease guns in her sparkling's arms and shook her head. "You three should go outside to play with those."

Thundercracker nodded and grabbed the catatonic Starscream's arm, "Come on, 'Warp. Let's get 'Screamer outside before he empties his fuel tank on the floor." The red mech had started to come around and looked blankly at the others.

If Skywarp heard him at all, he didn't acknowledge it, "Can you tell us stories about warriors and how you got all those medals and awards?"

The femme smiled again, "Maybe later."

Reluctantly, Thundercracker got Skywarp to help drag Starscream outside with the grease guns where they took turns spraying the red mech unmercifully with grease until he recovered enough to retaliate.

The femme watched the three run about the street playing and chuckled as they ambushed each other. She was glad that her shy and quiet youngling had found playmates, even if they were slightly odd sparklings. Her purple optics narrowed as they were drawn to the apartment where Starscream lived. She would have to keep a watch on him, she thought as she closed the door. Something had to have happened to cause the youngling to flinch when she touched him.


	4. The Cycle Starts

A/N: _Sorry this took so long to write. It turned out much too dark too quickly for my liking, so I had to split it up into upcoming chapters._

_Synopsis: A larger peek into Starscream's home life, along with a light tale about the stupid things you do when you are younger. We get a little more background about Skywarp's father-creator and Thundercracker's mother-creator and you can begin to see where they get some of their personality quirks from._

_Please Rate and Review! I've got upcoming chapters in the works, but as I said. I don't want to get too dark too quickly._

**Chapter 4 **– The Cycle Starts

"There's grease all over the front steps again!" The titanium door crashed shut. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your brat in line?!"

"I'm sorry, I forgot to-" A loud crash echoed through the small apartment.

"Maybe you two need a little reminder, hmm?"

There was another crash and a yelp of pain from his mother-creator. Starscream cringed; he could have sworn he cleaned up all of the grease as he grabbed all of his data pads and crawled under his recharge berth. He had scrubbed the stoop for over a cycle after Thundercracker and Skywarp had left, making sure the grease was completely gone, but he obviously missed a spot, and his lack of attention was going to hurt again tonight and not just for him…

--

She watched from her window as the red sparkling scrubbed the titanium stoop vigorously. From this distance she couldn't see anything on it, but she could see the tears on the youngling's face. It was late, very late for a sparkling to be outside in the dark.

The youngling stood up and wiped his optics with the back of his hand. He picked up the bucket and headed for the front door, knocking repeatedly before anyone answered.

The blue femme's optics narrowed as a mech came to the door and stomped down the steps, judging the work on the sparkling. He threw his hands up in the air and shoved the red youngling away from the door, pointing at the steps and yelling at the sparkling before storming back inside and slamming the door shut. The youngling sat down heavily with the bucket sloshing the grungy wash around him and held his head in his hands.

She should do something, she thought. But maybe the youngling hadn't done a decent job cleaning up the steps. She knew the sparklings had been playing with the grease guns again today; maybe the actions were justified. But something inside her spark told her otherwise.

The blue femme sighed and went to check on her own youngling. Thundercracker needed to be in recharge soon, no matter if the flier patrol was about to make another pass.

--

"Yeah! A sleep over!" The black mech was eagerly bouncing on the balls of his feet. "You two come over and we stay up all night eating energon candy and watching scary movies!"

Thundercracker leveled his gaze at Skywarp. It sounded like it could be fun, but, this was _Skywarp_ we were talking about, and he did come up with some very daft ideas. "So what do we have to do?"

Those were the words Skywarp wanted to hear and he let out a large 'whoop!' excitedly. "All you two have to do is get permission from your creator's to come over and spend all night at my house." He looked back and forth between his two friends. "But my father-creator said you have to have permission first."

The blue mech grinned. "I'll go ask now." All three were on the stoop for his house and Thundercracker jumped up and went inside to ask.

Skywarp turned to look curiously at a very nervous Starscream. "Aren't you going to go ask?"

The red youngling looked across the street to his house then back at his friend. "I don't know if this is a good idea…"

"Oh come on, 'Screamer!" Skywarp put his hands on his hips. "This will be the best fun you've ever had! Go ask!"

Starscream looked back over to his house for a few moments before nodding. "I'll go ask."

The black mech grinned and grabbed his arm. "I'll come with you! I've never been inside your house!"

"NO!" Purple optics went wide and Starscream quickly shook the startled Skywarp's hand off of him. "I mean." He squeaked as he tried to calm his voice. "Uhm… You go with TC and make sure his mother-creator says yes." He looked back across the street trying to convince the black mech into staying here. "I'm sure my creator will say its okay."

Skywarp tilted his head to one side, puzzling over Starscream's actions. "Uh, okay."

"Good." The red mech looked, relieved? "Good." He said again before trotting down the stairs towards his house. When he reached the other side of the street, Starscream stopped and looked back across to Skywarp, who just stared at him strangely. He could do this. It was just for one night.

He gathered his courage and walked up the steps, knocking on his front door and waiting for someone to answer.

Skywarp stared at Starscream from Thundercracker's house. Why did he have to knock on his door? He didn't have to; he just ran inside. And TC didn't have to either. The door opened a crack and Starscream squeezed inside. It was too much for the black mech to handle; curiosity and Skywarp had a dangerous relationship, and he hopped down the stairs to go peek into Starscream's house.

Thundercracker and his mother-creator came outside just then and the black mech stopped, his curiosity could wait a moment as he found out if TC could come over. "So can you sleep over at my house?"

The blue femme smiled as Thundercracker nodded his head. "Yep!"

Skywarp let out another 'whoop!' and grabbed the blue mech's arm. "Let's go see if 'Screamer can too!"

"Wait!" The blue femme stopped the two before they left the stoop; her smile had disappeared. "I think you two should wait for Starscream to come back out on his own."

Thundercracker looked up at his mother-creator oddly. "Why?"

She looked at the closed door across the street and pursed his lips. "I think you should just wait." She looked at the two sparklings. "It's rude to just enter, or teleport, into someone's home without being invited."

"Oh." Skywarp gave a sheepish grin.

--

"Please?" The red youngling pleaded with the sad red femme. "It's just for one night and I'll do all my chores before. Just please, can I go?"

"I don't think this is a good idea…" She looked into his purple optics.

He looked crestfallen and turned to go back outside to tell the others he couldn't. She hated doing this. It was just for one night. All she just had to do was keep him from getting too upset that Starscream was gone. "Wait, Starscream."

The red youngling looked back at her sadly. "You can go, but you need to get all your chores done first before he comes home. He'll need to think you're in recharge early."

Purple optics widened hopefully. "Really?"

The red femme managed a small smile. "Yes, really. Now go tell your friends that you can go, but after your chores."

"Okay!" He nearly bolted out the door and she sighed. He was already missing out on so many things that young sparklings do. She wrapped her arms around her body and shivered; she would need to distract him so he wouldn't find out that Starscream was gone tonight.

--

The older black and silver mech had his feet up on the table and was reading a holopad that had two curvy femmes on the cover, when Skywarp and his two sparkling friends burst through the front door. He nearly fell over as he jumped to his feet and stashed the holopad. "Hey! Don't you guys know how to knock!"

The young black mech stopped and stared at his father-creator. "Why would I need to knock?"

The older mech laughed and patted his youngling on the head. "Crazy sparkling glitch-mouse."

The red and blue mechs optics widened and they started to giggle. Skywarp glowered at his father-creator. "I'm not a glitch-mouse."

"Yeah, you keep believing that, 'Warp." The older mech limped over to the table and picked up a handful of holodisks. He turned and grinned evilly at the younglings. "Do I have a surprise for you three." He held out the disks for them to look at. "I brought home as many of the 'classics' I could find. This should keep you three scared of the dark for weeks."

"Pfft! We're not sparklings who'd cower in fear of the dark!" Skywarp crossed his little arms across his chest defiantly.

The older back mech just shook his head and limped into the other room to get another cup of energon. "Everyone has permission, right?"

"Yes." All three answered in unison.

"Okay." He limped back into the room, sipping from the cup. "I got some energon goodies for later and the grease guns are already filled, no wars in the house." He looked at all three before his optics stopped on Skywarp. "And no touching the high-grade, 'Warp. There is plenty of other stuff for you three."

The young black mech nodded and ran to get the grease guns, leaving his friends there with his father-creator who was easing down in the chair and putting his feet up on the table.

Starscream walked over to the much larger and older black mech. "Why don't you go see a medic for your limp?"

Worldly green optics looked at the curious red sparkling with a chuckle. "I don't want to."

"But a medic can easily fix that limp."

"It's an old war wound and I don't mind it. Helps me remember all the wingmates I lost in the war."

Thundercracker had been watching the mech intently; his gaze on the massive black and silver wings of the old flier.

The black mech grinned at the rapt blue youngling. "I hear you want to be a flier, TC."

He nodded quickly before making optic contact. "More than anything in the world."

"There is nothing in the world better than being a flier. The feel of the wind on your wings, playing on the up and downward drafts, the rush of coolant coursing through your body and breaking the sound barrier." He chuckled. "Nothing better than that."

"I can already break the sound barrier!" Large purple optics widened as a mischievous grin spread across Thundercracker's face.

"I heard about that. You're mother-creator gave you her ability." He mused faraway. "Ah, back in the war, she was a beautiful streak of blue across the sky. One of the best of the corps, what I would have given to-" He looked down at the two younglings and cleared his throat. "Never mind that. Are all three of you going to be fliers?"

"No. Nerdy Starscream is going to be a scientist." Skywarp bounded in from the other room carrying the guns.

The older mech chuckled. "You can still be a flier and a scientist." He looked at the red youngling. "I've heard that the Iacon Institute needs fliers to explore the galaxy."

Skywarp was thrusting the guns in his friends' hands; Starscream looked at the older mech carefully, considering his words. The black and silver flier nodded to the red youngling. "Just think about it."

Starscream nodded as Skywarp dragged him outside.

--

"Your father-creator said don't touch it, 'Warp." Thundercracker eyed the black youngling warily.

"He won't know. Just try some, it can't be that bad!" The black mech held out the cup of high-grade to the blue mech. Starscream was already staring into the cup that Skywarp had thrust at him. "Just try it!"

"I won't until you do." The red mech looked up at the black youngling, only to be met with a grin.

"Okay, on a count of three, we all drink the whole cup."

"Are you insane?" Thundercracker's optics popped out. "We'll get sick if we do that."

"Pfft. My father-creator drinks it all the time and he doesn't get sick." Skywarp smirked maliciously as he taunted his friends.

"I don't know about this-"

"Just try it! Okay?" He held his cup out, trying to toast with the other two sparklings. "Friends 'til the bitter end!"

Starscream and Thundercracker exchanged wary glances. Starscream shrugged and toasted Skywarp. "Friends 'til the bitter end."

"Come on, TC!"

The blue mech sighed and held his cup out. "Friends 'til the bitter end."

With all optics looking back and forth between each other, Skywarp counted down. "Three, two…one. Drink!"

The high-grade went down: Skywarp tried not to make a face as the liquid burned his throat, Starscream coughed and spluttered, and Thundercracker spit the energon out on the floor in disgust. "Ugh! That was awful!"

Skywarp's optics watered and he coughed. "At least we know what it tastes like."

Starscream spluttered again. "I'm never ever drinking that again!"

"Great idea, 'Warp." Thundercracker rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth. "Why do I let you talk me into all of your stupid ideas?"

"Because we're friends and that's what friends do!" The goofy black mech giggled and hiccupped.

"Uh-oh." Starscream blinked rapidly as his equilibrium sensors started to fail.

Thundercracker sighed. "Great, just great. You're both drunk! Now what do we do?"

The black mech gave a lopsided grin and held up a holodisk. "Now we watch movies!"

--

"No! Don't open the door! He's right behind it!"

"Eww!"

It was dark in the front room of Skywarp's house with the only light coming from the movie on the vid screen with the three mechs huddled together as they watched "The Blade". Every so often one would flinch or shut their optics, as the scenes from the movie grew more intense.

Starscream was still swaying a bit from the high-grade and was leaning on Thundercracker. The blue mech didn't mind, but he warned his friend that there would be consequences if he emptied his fuel tank on him.

Skywarp, on the other hand, was so wrapped up in the movie that he didn't show any symptoms from the drink.

This was the second movie of the night, "Pitraiser" being the first one they had watched. When it had ended, the trio had turned on a few lights to get some more energon candy to snack on, and Thundercracker and Starscream wanted Skywarp to leave them on, but _just because_ being so close to the screen hurt their optics, of course.

The malicious black mech called them glitch-mice and shut off all the lights after he put in the next movie, giggling at his friends being scared of the dark. But now… now he was huddled up with Thundercracker and Starscream as if the darkness was closing in around them.

As one of the characters shut inside a dim and grungy room went to look through a peep-hole in the door, all three younglings started to yell at the vid screen. "Don't do it! Don't do it!"

"Ahhh! You idiot! You're going to get-" BANG! "-shot." A photon rifle had been positioned behind the peep-hole and it fired when the mech looked through; all three cringed as the mech's CPU and neural net blew out the back of his head.

Skywarp started to giggle manically. "You two glitch-mice jumped! Haha! You two are scared!"

Starscream shoved the black mech roughly. "You jumped too, you sparkling!"

With the movie forgotten, the three tussled on the floor in the darkness, each calling the other names, but no one heard the soft swishing sound of a teleport, until a pair of black hands reached out of the darkness and grabbed Skywarp from behind. The youngling's optics went wide in horror and his screech could have rivaled Starscream's. The other two sparklings screamed as well, crawling across the floor to get away from the black hands that lifted Skywarp up off the floor.

There was an evil laugh and then the darkness was split open by the older black mech's running lights. "Gotcha!"

Poor Thundercracker's optics rolled back as he passed out cold and Starscream emptied his fuel tank all over the floor. But Skywarp, much to his father-creator's surprise, lubricated himself.

--

The blue femme watched from her window again as the Cybertronian skies grew dark; the sparkling had been left outside tonight, and he sat curled up against one of the walls that framed the steps. He was shivering and every so often he would get up and knock on the front door. He wrapped his arms around him and sat back down on the steps, looking very lost and lonely.

This wasn't right and she had to do something. The blue femme pulled out a cube of low-grade energon and poured it into a cup before heading for the door and calling up the stairs. "Thundercracker! I'll be right back. You should get ready for recharge!"

A tired sounding youngling answered her back. "But the next patrol is going to be here."

"If you get ready now, I'll let you see the next patrol!"

"Okay."

The femme slipped out the door and headed across the street; the red youngling had balled himself up on the steps, his legs pulled up to his chest, his arms across the top of his knees with his head bowed over his arms.

It made her spark ache to see the child like this. "Starscream?"

The red mech's head snapped up quickly, his purple optics wide in surprise. "…hello."

She smiled at him as she came up the steps and held out the cup of energon. "You looked a little thirsty."

Starscream looked at the blue femme in confusion and then at the offered cup as if it would reach out and bite him. "Go on, it's okay."

He took the cup and looked up at her as if asking for her permission. "Go on."

His optics never left her face as he drank. She was right; he was thirsty.

There was the sound of heavy footsteps coming to the door and she turned around as the door swung open to face an angry gray mech. "What the slag do you think you're doing?"

She smiled calmly at him. "Starscream and my sparkling are friends and I thought I'd bring him something to drink since it looked like no one was home-"

"We don't need your frakkin' handouts!" The mech grabbed Starscream's arm and knocked the cup away from him before dragging the poor youngling inside. "Mind your own slaggin' business!"

The door slammed and she could hear the angry mech yelling at the youngling inside the apartment. The blue femme picked up the cup and walked back to her home.

Now she knew she had to do something. She called one of the fliers in her squadron who was now working as a counselor in the private sector and reported what she had seen. Her wingmate said she would send someone out to investigate in the morning, but that didn't appease the worry the blue femme felt.


	5. War Stories

**A/N: **_The title 'War Stories' has two meanings in this chapter. You remember in the last chapter how I said the story was going to get dark? It's close to twilight. I wanted to put something light in here, but it didn't fit with the rest. So we get a better look at Thundercracker and his mother-creator and their relationship, and then we get the boring story about the history of some of the big wars on Cybertron (almost all of its made up by me) as Skywarp's father-creator tries to impress upon the younglings about learning and adapting from previous experiences... and then we get a nasty view of Starscream's home life. It's bad, it made me cry while I tried to write it, but in my opinion, it starts to demonstrate why our beloved 'Screamer acts the way he does as an adult. It's dark but I hope it also starts to show why Skywarp and Thundercracker's friendship becomes important._

_As always, constructive criticism is welcomed. Ratings and Reviews given lots of love. And don't worry, a certain character will be getting his soon enough._

**Chapter 5** – War Stories

She was watching from her window early the next morning. Thundercracker was still in recharge and the streets were empty. The door across the street opened and a femme ushered Starscream out onto the steps. She gave him a large stack of data pads before she ran her fingers down his check and closed the door. At least someone in that house seemed to care about the youngling. She watched him for a while as he sat there alone reading by himself.

There was a loud clatter from up the stairs meaning Thundercracker was up. She sighed and went to get him some breakfast before he went running across the street to play. The blue femme headed up the stairs as her exuberant sparkling was loading up the grease guns. She handed him his breakfast and sat down on his recharge berth. "Are you three going to have another war today?"

Thundercracker nodded enthusiastically as he downed his energon. "Yep. And then we're going over to Skywarp's to listen to his creator tell some more war stories!"

She laughed. "Just don't get any ideas about attacking people on the street. The type of fighting Skywarp's creator did during the war wasn't sanctioned by the commanding officers."

The blue mech's head turned curiously as he looked at his creator. "What's that mean?"

"It means that… well, just don't let him talk you into anything. Remember, if you think its wrong, then don't do it."

"Yeah I know. 'Let my conscious be my guide'." He went back to filling the grease guns up.

The blue femme bit her lip wondering how she could ask Thundercracker about Starscream without revealing too much over what she had seen. "How are Skywarp and Starscream?"

"Eh, they're both pains." He shrugged.

"But you like them, right?"

"Well, yeah." He turned to face her. "They're my best friends."

"That's good. I'm happy that you have such good friends." She smiled. "I see Starscream is studying a lot, do you know what he's reading?"

"Yeah, a bunch of geeky stuff. He wants to go to the Science Academy." The blue mech capped the reservoirs on the guns. "He's always sitting there reading before we come outside."

Ah, she found her opening. "Always? Seems a bit early to be studying so hard."

"Yeah, but he's always out there, even after Skywarp and I have to leave."

"I noticed that." She smiled inwardly at getting her shy sparkling to open up. "Does his creator come home late?"

Thundercracker thought for a moment. "I don't know. I've never seen his creator, and we've never been inside his house."

"That's really weird, don't you think?"

He nodded.

"Do you notice anything else weird about Starscream and his creator?"

"Well… Some days 'Screamer is really angry and doesn't want to play at all; he says he has to study. And then other days, he freaks out about us playing on the steps."

She looked at the grease guns and nodded. "You know. I think it would be best that when you three are battling that you should stay away from his place. You can come over here and play, okay?"

Thundercracker grinned at her and she patted him on the shoulder. "You better get out there before Skywarp starts causing trouble."

He gathered up the grease guns and ran down the stairs and out of the house with a 'whoop'. She followed after him, quietly shutting the door and taking up her position by the window to watch the three.

--

"Tell us some more stories about the war!" Skywarp was sitting on the edge of his seat, optics wide and shining as he was caught up in the moment.

"Are there fliers in it?" Thundercracker was just as enthralled with the stories the black flier had been telling the trio.

"Of course there are fliers in it! Fliers are the rulers of the Cybertronian skies." A familiar smirk spread across the faceplate of the older black mech; Skywarp had inherited a lot of his traits from his father-creator. The black mech stretched his wide black and silver wings behind him for emphasis, "Cybertron wouldn't have beaten off the Scintillians if it weren't for the fliers."

"Why did they attack Cybertron in the first place?" Starscream sat quietly next to his more enthusiastic friends; he didn't seem as interested in the stories as the other younglings were.

"The exact reason why will probably never be known. Some say it was for the trade routes, some say it was for resources, some say it was just because they felt like fighting." The older mech's green optics glittered at his young audience, "The reasons behind it don't really matter anymore… The important thing is what we learn from the war and what we must never forget. Even in times of peace, we still need warriors to protect Cybertron and its people… If we want peace, we have to be willing to fight for it."

"Yeah, yeah… fight for Cybertron." Skywarp was bouncing in his seat, "Tell us about some of the fragging battles!"

The older mech slapped the back of Skywarp's head hard, "Do I need to set you in the corner to defrag?"

"…No."

"Quit with the language then." Green optics looked at the other two younglings who were much better behaved than his sparkling. He shook his head with a wry smile, "I shoulda known you'd pick up all of my bad habits."

He grinned at the three sets of purple optics that now watched him. "Hmm, I think I know just the story to tell you kids."

"Does it have stories about the war?"

"Are there fliers in it?"

The older mech shook his head again, "Yes it has fliers in it and yes it has stories about wars."

Skywarp's purple optics widened, "Wars? As in more than one war?"

"Yes. More than one war and it's got the history of the fliers in it." He chuckled and got comfortable in his chair. "Long, long ago Cybertronians believed that they were the only life that Primus created in the entire universe. But when the first alien life stepped foot on the surface of Cybertron, most of the people refused to believe it. The Cybertronian government tried to debunk the stories of life outside of Cybertron by calling the sightings and contacts 'urban legends' or 'mass hallucinations'…that was until the day when the entire planet was invaded by the Quintessons."

"Invaded? Like the Scintillians?" Skywarp's grin had spread from audio receptor to audio receptor.

"The Scintillian's didn't invade Cybertron. They probably wanted to, but I doubt more than a handful actually set foot on the surface. The Cybertronian fliers kept their ships at bay." The black mech took another sip of his energon. "Anyways, the Quintessons invaded Cybertron, destroying the great cities, taking shiploads of prisoners to work on one of their many mining planets and the people of Cybertron were unable to stop the aliens from decimating the population…" He leaned closer to the bewitched younglings and smirked. "_All because there were no fighters_."

He gestured with his hand airily, "Sure there were artists and scientists and politicians, but Cybertron knew nothing except peace. Why would you need guards or soldiers when everything is peaceful? Anyways, the people learned that running away from the sweeps wouldn't save them. The only other option was to fight back. We picked up the Quintessons' own weapons and learned how to use them. Quickly. We watched how the aliens rounded us up inside the sweeps by circling in from all sides and over-powering the ones that were caught, but…" His optics twinkled. "The backs of the Quintessons were vulnerable to attack."

The older flier raised a finger and shook it for emphasis, "They didn't even bother to protect their most vulnerable spot! You always, _always_ make sure that every angle is covered. Doesn't matter if there are two or twenty of you, you make sure the enemy can't come up behind. Anyways, we realized this and used the Quintessons own sweeps against them."

He took another swig of his cup. "So a resistance formed to fight back. We used the Quintessons own weapons, captured the aliens and found out when and where the next sweeps would occur, then we would empty the cities and ambush them." The older mech grinned tapping his fingers on the table.

"Our people adapted and found better ways to fight them, until we were able to steal one of their ships. Then by pretending to be a slave vessel we started freeing our people and bringing them back to Cybertron. Along the way, we stole more ships and finally we kicked them off the planet." The older flier sat back in his chair and took a long drink from his cup.

"That's it?" Skywarp's face fell. "That's a war story? That was boring."

The black mech narrowed his optics at his sparkling, "That's a very important war in the history of Cybertron."

Skywarp rolled his optics and got a smack in the back of his head for it. "Ow!" The older mech glared at Skywarp. "Who says I was done yet. Now shut up and listen."

Thundercracker looked at the older mech confused, "I thought you said there were fliers in the story."

"There is more to that story."

Wide purple optics lit up and Skywarp went from pouting to listening.

"That war proved that Cybertronians weren't alone in the universe and it drove home the fact that we needed a military that would constantly keep a watch on the skies in case the Quintessons came back. So that was the birth of the Cybertronian Security Forces." The older black mech looked at his empty cup with a frown and set it aside.

"The Security Forces were the select few that had proven themselves in the war, and just having the war heroes run the Security Forces would have been all right, except for one problem: there were only had a handful of these heroes left. So the government had the Fighting Academy built and started to train soldiers for the Forces."

He leaned back in his chair. "But to train these new soldiers to fight they needed weapons, and the only weapons we had were what we had stolen from the Quintessons. So the Cybertronian government requisitioned the Iacon Science Institute to create weapons specifically for the Forces to use."

"But now a different problem arose." He smiled at Thundercracker. "The Forces had weapons and strategies to fight invaders on the ground... But not in the skies. The Forces had a handful of battered Quintesson ships left over from the war, but they weren't battleships. So the government went back to the Science Institute and had them reverse engineer the technology of the ships and had them build a battalion of cruisers to protect the skies."

The older mech got up and went into the other room to get some more energon. "So," He called from the other room. "Cybertron had a force to fight back in case any other invaders wanted to fight, and luckily there wasn't another war for three million stellar cycles until the Varcterions attacked." He came back and sat down in front of the sparklings again. "Now the Varcterions weren't interested in slaves or resources, they were after something much more sinister." He gave the younglings a very dark look. "They wanted to destroy the entire planet."

"Like all of Cybertron?"

"Exactly." He pointed at the rapt trio. "You see, the Varcterions were you might say, religious fanatics, and they believed that by destroying Cybertron they would be destroying Primus and releasing the Unmaker from his prison." Three sets of wide purple optics stared at him. "Eons ago, back before the planet Cybertron existed, even before universe had been created… There was a great battle between order and chaos over the Allspark. Primus, who fought for order, and the Unmaker, who fought for chaos, battled over the Allspark for trillions of years… One wanting to use it to create life, the other wanting to use it to destroy life before it could begin. In the end, Primus won and the Unmaker was cast into the Pit, and Primus used the Allspark to create life on Cybertron."

He leaned his crossed arms on the table. "Now the Varcterions believed that Primus and the Allspark resided deep in the heart of Cybertron, therefore if they destroyed the planet, then order would be destroyed and chaos would reign."

He shook his head. "I can't imagine how difficult that battle was, fighting against an army that had nearly unlimited troops and every single one of them ready and willing to die for their desire to destroy the universe … Anyways after heavy damage to the planet and the loss of Cybertron's third moon-"

"Cybertron had a third moon?" Starscream's optics were wide in surprise. "What was it called?"

The old black mech tapped his fingers on the table. "The name escapes me, but its destruction caused the Vectra asteroid belt that Cybertron passes through every vorn. Anyways, Cybertron won. And it was during that war that the first fliers were created. See, the Varcterions had small one-man gliders that they could load with explosives, and they'd send a couple hundred out at once in a battle to attack the big cruisers. Now the big cruisers were good for a full frontal assault, but they were highly vulnerable against the gliders and could easily be destroyed by them. So protoforms were enhanced and the Guardian Fighters were created to combat their gliders." The black mech smirked and pointed at the three sparklings. "Which is why you three can become fliers."

"So with the new Guardian Fighters, we were able to easily fight their gliders. Our Guardians could attack the gliders from a distance and we could easily shoot them as they exited the Varcterions cruisers, causing a chain reaction that destroyed not only a sortie of gliders but do major damage to the cruisers their. It was the fliers that won that war."

He sipped at his energon. "After that, the government decided that Cybertron needed to do some exploring in the star system and find out if there were any other threats nearby. So a cruiser was modified to become a scouting shuttle and an expedition was sent out to explore the nearby planets. Well, the expedition found nothing else in this star system that could attack us, but they also found that there were numerous systems out far beyond the Vectra belt. So when the expedition came back with all the new information, the scientists went nuts, and there were telescopes and new shuttles built and all that stuff."

The older flier leaned on the table. "Now here is where the story gets really interesting. One of the expeditions on some planet in our star system turned up ruins of an ancient society, so of course more scientists were sent to investigate, and they figured out that the civilization that lived there had died out millions of stellar cycles ago… Longer than anything existing on Cybertron. And," He grinned at Starscream. "Artifacts found at the ruins were written in a strange dialect of Cybertronian, and they described different civilizations all over the universe that were created with the Allspark."

The black flier's internal chronometer went off and he sat up in his chair. "It's getting late. I'll have to finish the story later."

"No way!" Skywarp glared at his father-creator. "Just talk faster!"

The flier just shook his head. "Too much left to tell. I'll finish it tomorrow, okay?"

There were disappointed nods as the younglings got up from their chairs and headed for the front door. "See you tomorrow, 'Warp."

--

Thundercracker had come home for the night and the femme was cleaning up from dinner when there was a loud pounding at the door. Starscream's creator stood at the door, fuming and shaking his fist. "I told you to slaggin' keep your nose out of our business, you filthy glitch!"

The blue femme crossed her arms over her cockpit and coldly glared at the mech. "It is my business when I see a sparkling treated like that."

He snarled at her before stomping back across the street. "I'm warning you to keep your nosy aft to yourself."

--

Starscream sat on the bottom step as he watched his father-creator bang on Thundercracker's door and yell at the blue femme. He cringed while waiting for something bad to happen to her, but when she crossed her arms and glared at him…

Nothing happened.

She had actually stood up to him.

She stood up to him and nothing bad had happened.

--

"You call that frakkin' clean? Get your Pit-spawned aft back out there and clean it again!" The gray mech stormed in the room, his red optics flaring in anger. "Do you hear me you little glitch?"

The red youngling drew a deep breath, balling up his little fists as he tried to muster up as much courage as he could. "I already scrubbed them."

The air grew still and icy cold. "… What did you say?"

"I said…" Starscream's mother-creator green optics were wide in horror as she tried to get his attention. Her spark lurched in her chest as she tried to maneuver around the mech and get to her sparkling.

The red youngling calmed his voice. "I said I already scrubbed them."

The gray mech grabbed Starscream by his shoulder, wrenching him around. "You get out there and clean those slaggin' steps now!"

Starscream winced in pain and tried to struggle out of his father-creator's grasp. "NO!"

The backhanded smack echoed through the cold room and Starscream was hurdled across the floor, his head snapping to one side painfully, and energon oozing from a broken lip. He wiped his face with the back of one hand as his father-creator loomed over him. Starscream flinched as the first fist came down. And then another, and another, and another, until he was curled up on the floor whimpering.

His mother-creator pulled on the gray mech's arms, trying to get him to stop hitting her sparkling only to get thrown to the floor next to Starscream. She forced her body between them, trying to protect Starscream from his father-creator's punches. "He didn't mean it! He'll go outside and rewash the stoop! Please, just stop hurting him!"

The gray mech spat at them before raging out of the room. "You two make me sick. Get out of my sight!"

The red femme stroked Starscream's back, holding onto him tightly while they both sat on the floor sobbing. She pressed his head into her chest, whispering fervently into his audios. "We'll get out of here. I promise we'll get away from him." He whimpered and she held onto him tighter. "Just keep studying as hard as you can and we'll get out of here."

--

The blue femme was at the window again, but there had been no sign of Starscream. She balled up her fists in anger, that mech better not have laid a hand on him.

Thundercracker bounded down the stairs and caught her looking out the window frowning. He tilted his head to one side curiously. "Something happening outside?"

She turned to look at him and trying to hide her emotions. "Nothing. I think Starscream went over to Skywarp's already."

Purple optics widened. "No way! They better not have started the story without me!" He threw himself into the door and yanked it open, bolting down the stairs and then the street.

She closed the door behind him and went back to looking out the window. Hopefully Starscream was at Skywarp's.

--

Thundercracker banged on Skywarp's door. How could they just leave him behind!

The older flier opened the door with a stretch before looking down at the ruffled sparkling. "Heh, I knew you were excited to hear the rest of the story, but I didn't think you'd be here this early."

"Huh? But 'Screamer is here already."

He raised an optic ridge curiously. "He's not here. 'Warp isn't even out of recharge yet."

"But he has to be here. He's not outside his house."

The black flier shrugged and let Thundercracker inside. "Maybe he is." He yelled up the stairs. "Hey 'Warp! Get your scrawny aft our of bed!"

A moment later, the mischievous black youngling came down the stairs with a yawn, blinking at Thundercracker. "Hey, TC. Where's 'Screamer?"

The blue youngling looked back and forth between the old flier and Skywarp before answering. "I thought he was here. He's not on his steps."

The older mech patted Thundercracker on the shoulder. "He's probably still in recharge."

Skywarp shook the last bit of grogginess from his head, realizing something was wrong. "No way. 'Screamer is always outside before we're even awake."

"Maybe today he slept in." The flier shrugged. "He's probably on his way here or at your place, TC."

"Maybe…" The two younglings looked at each other.

Skywarp grabbed Thundercracker by the arm and headed for the door. "We'll go get him and come back for the rest of the story!"

--

When the blue femme saw her sparkling and Skywarp running down the street, she knew something had happened to the red sparkling. Thundercracker opened the door and looked at his mother-creator. "Did 'Screamer show up?"

She shook her head and looked back across the street, pursing her lips. "I haven't seen him come outside."

"Maybe he did sleep in, TC." The black youngling looked out the door and across the street. "Let's go wake him up."

The blue femme's optics narrowed, "Remember to go knock, you two. No teleporting or rushing inside."

The sparklings ran across the street quickly to Starscream's home and she subspaced her rifle, holding it cautiously behind her back. If that mech answered and made any move to hurt the two younglings…

--

Skywarp and Thundercracker knocked on the door repeatedly. "Maybe they're not home."

There were soft footsteps and then the door unlocked and opened a crack. A red femme with green optics answered the door. "Yes?"

"Uh, where's 'Screamer?" Skywarp tried to peer inside the house.

Thundercracker elbowed the black mech. "Can Starscream come out to play?"

The red femme looked at the two sparklings sadly. "No. He's…sick today."

"Sick?" Skywarp looked up at the femme. "He can't be sick, we're going to hear the rest of the Guardian Fighters story today."

Thundercracker tilted his head to one side, looking up at the femme curiously. She looked like she had been crying.

She started to close the door. "I'm sorry. Maybe he can come out tomorrow."

The two younglings stared at the door for a moment before turning around and headed across the street. "Sick? How could he get sick when he knows we're to hear the rest of the story today?"

--

The blue femme stood in the doorway and put her rifle back in subspace as Thundercracker and Skywarp walked up the stairs. "Is he still in recharge?"

"No, his mother-creator said he's sick. How could he get sick today?" Skywarp crossed his little arms over his chest.

She looked back across the street and hoped that she wasn't the cause of the sparkling's 'sickness'.


	6. The Tale of the Seekers

A/N: _I know it's been awhile since I updated this story, but it had to go on the back burner because parts of this deal directly with 'Countdown' and I didn't want to give too much away. I didn't want to do something in this story, but it became necessary, so I've named TC and 'Warp's creator's. This will most likely be the only time you see their names, tho._

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed, reviews given much love and Seeker younglings like to hear from readers. Drop a note and tell us if you like it!

**Chapter 6** - The Tale of the Seekers

"So where was I?" The older black mech looked over the three younglings sitting in front of him. He had to skip a day in the telling because the red sparkling was sick. The youngling did look the worse for wear, but he was also more sullen than usual. The other two were sitting on the edges of their seats, eager and ready for him to finish with the story.

"The ruins of the ancient civilization…" Starscream spoke very softly.

"Oh, yeah. Okay." Worldly green optics glittered as he sat back in his chair. "So the scientists found these artifacts in the ruins on that planet that were covered with strange runes, one of them being an old dialect of Cybertronian. They were able to decipher the Cybertronian part and it told a story about some of Cybertron's best warriors who left the planet."

The older black mech smirked and got ready for the tale, "This is how it went: Long ago, a visitor from another world came to Cybertron looking for the best warriors Cybertron had for an intergalactic competition. The government decided it would be a good idea to check out whom else would be at the competition and to seek out information on alien technology to prepare in case we got invaded again. So twelve of our best Guardian Fighters, dubbed the 'seekers', were picked to go with the alien for the competition and sent off."

He took a drink from his cup of energon. "Now there were alien races from all over the universe at the competition and our twelve best were humbled by some of the other races, and the worry that they would come home losers or worse - give the idea to the stronger races that Cybertron would make an easy target, overwhelmed the group. So the seekers kept close to each other, but they did what the government wanted them to do, seek out the necessary information. Many of the alien combatants used technology that was beyond our imagination, but while our best felt overwhelmed, they weren't stupid. And while they kept watch on the competition, they took ideas from what the other aliens were using and upgraded themselves. So… the first trials of the contest were to weed out the weaker alien races, and many of the groups were eliminated. But the trials were simple for our seekers, and that boosted their moral. Now that we knew we might actually make it somewhere in the competition, the seekers became a little bolder among the other races there, spreading out to gather more information and befriending many of the aliens as they continued to rise in rankings."

He took another drink. "And while our twelve seekers started to spread out, they found that a few of the races were jealous of them and their ability to morph between our armored Protoform bodies to armored and battle-ready fliers and other heavy duty fighters. There were only a handful of fliers in the other races but nothing like us. Once the weaker races were removed from the competition, the real battles began. Battles that turned into struggles for their very lives."

He leaned forwards on the table, "Our twelve had made friends at the tournament, but they had also made enemies. Enemies that were also looking for information on technology and resources. Enemies that wanted the biological information on our species so that they too, could alter their physical appearance at will. Because of this envy accidents started to happen. And then during one of the trials, one of our twelve was killed. That's when fights outside of the competitions broke out. It was after one of these fights that it was decided among the remaining seekers that they were going to share all the information they had gathered between themselves. One of the seekers needed to make it home alive with what they had learned, and if all the information was shared, that would ensure that Cybertron got the information."

The older flier shifted his wings into a more comfortable position. "It was also decided that they would aggressively go after technology from the others at the competition. One of the races we befriended found out that one of the stronger races planned to kill the next Cybertronian they went up against with an illegal weapon that would download the complete memory and genetic makeup of its victim. So the friendly race decided to give us a weapon to combat the illegal weapon, but the aliens heard what was going to happen and they killed the messenger with the weapon. Another one was sent but it reached our remaining group with barely two cycles before the final competition was to start. There was little time to adapt the weapon, but our group wasn't just skilled in fighting, and they improvised on the designs barely getting it complete before the trial."

The worldly green optics grinned at the rapt younglings. "The final trial was an assortment of tasks that would test fighting skills, strength, agility and the like. Our remaining seekers decided on one of the Guardian Fliers that they best believed could easily accomplish all of it, and they gave him the new weapon along with a self destruct program in standby incase he was killed."

The flier leaned in close. "So the trial started and our best stood toe to toe with the alien through the first part of the battle, but the alien was just waiting for the flier to drop his guard before he went in for the kill. He believed that if he made it seem like our flier was his equal that his guard would drop. But the flier didn't drop his guard, in fact, his guard increased as he realized that the alien was baiting him. And then our flier started to best the alien and poke through his weaknesses. This only angered the alien further and the battle turned vicious."

"The alien brought out a hidden weapon to fight with, but the judges didn't stop the fight, so our flier assumed it wasn't the weapon he had to worry about, and he continued to best the alien. The stronger alien had our flier beat in sheer strength, but the flier had extreme agility, a battle computer and a CPU that far surpassed the alien. The alien raged as our flier kept out of his reach, but then he got a lucky hit and damaged one of the flier's wings, effectively keeping the flier from using his alternate form. So our flier was stuck in his bipedal form, which while he was still very agile, made it more difficult to keep out of the stronger alien's range. And now with a boost in his moral, the alien started to take risks to damage and wear down the flier."

He shifted his wings into a more comfortable position. "Realizing that the alien was now just trying to wear him out, the flier started to use his CPU more that his agility to best the alien, and he went for body shots that would also tire and wound the alien. As they wore each other down, it was obvious that the stronger alien had more stamina than our flier, and with the arena soon damp with blood and energon, it became clear that the alien was ready to go for the kill. The judges of the trial realized that something was wrong in the battle and tried to end it, but the stronger alien kept on fighting and wounding the flier. Other contestants started to jump into the arena with the two combatants and end the battle… And that's when the alien pulled the illegal bladed weapon."

The older flier sat back to take a swig of his energon, an evil grin crossing over his faceplate. "Our flier was tired and beaten up, bleeding excessively and being held back by other contestants, as they tried to stop the stronger alien. But the alien wasn't going to stop until he completed his task, and he mowed through the growing group of other combatants, guards and anyone else that stood in the way between him and our flier. The others pushed the flier up against the wall as they tried to save him, but he tried to get free of their attempts to help him. The flier was nearly helpless as the others stood in front of him and blocked his way, he couldn't morph into his flier form and get between the ones trying to help him and the alien, and watching them die for no reason sent the flier into a berserk rage. He screamed to the heavens for Primus' aid and Primus heard his call."

The flier leaned closer to the younglings, his voice taking on a dramatic edge and his optics glittering in the moment. "The flier was given his alternate form back with a boost of incredible strength. He shot into the air with a scream of rage and dove in front of the group that had tried to protect him. The alien lifted the weapon high into the air to slash through the flier, but with his boost of strength, our flier threw himself at the alien, bringing out the energon modified weapons… and…" The older flier warped from his chair only to reappear in the air, in mid fight with the enemy. One leg was stretched out, aiming straight for his invisible enemy's chest while two large energon hook swords appeared in his grip. As if his foot hit the invisible enemy, he quickly somersaulted in the air, tucking his wings back and slashing with a cross cut at the enemy in the middle of his spin. He landed gracefully in a tucked crouch, his head bent down and the deep purple energon blades humming in his grip, parallel to the floor.

"The alien didn't know what hit him, and the look of shock was frozen on his face as his head rolled across the arena floor. The combatants in the arena and the crowds in the stands went quiet at the masterful display. The other seekers ran down to help him, carefully lifting him up and storing the energon-based weapons. The crowd then cheered and the judges awarded the Cybertronians the intergalactic award for being the best of the best."

The older black mech stood and faced the wide and stunned optics of Skywarp and Thundercracker with a wicked grin. "And that is how our group of 'Seekers' became known throughout the universe as 'the best of the best'."

The red mech frowned, "That's not a real story, you just made that up."

Skywarp socked Starscream in the arm. "It is too a real story!" He looked up at his creator. "Tell him it's a real story!"

The older flier crossed the deep purple energon hook swords in front of him and looked at the disbelieving red youngling. "How do you know it's not true?"

Starscream crosses his little arms over his chest with a frown. "Because there would be something about it in the history of Cybertron. The war stories you told us about the Varcterions and the Quintessons are true because I've read about them in my studies, but there is nothing about 'seekers' or some intergalactic contest that Cybertronians won."

The older flier grinned, "Maybe you just haven't read about them yet."

"I doubt it."

Worldly green optics looked at the frowning mech as he stowed the hook swords. "Just because it's not in a book doesn't make it any less real."

He raised an optic ridge at Skywarp's creator, "That's silly."

The flier patted the youngling's head. "It's okay if you don't believe it, Starscream."

The blue youngling was still looking at the older flier in awe. "I believe it. I know you and my mother-creator beat up Scintillians and helped win the war." He turned to look at Starscream. "If they could fight off the aliens, and old Cybertronians fought off the Varcterions and Quintessons, then why can't a flier win a fight single-handedly against another alien?"

"Because it's not mentioned in the history of Cybertron!" Starscream looked exasperatedly at Thundercracker.

Skywarp elbowed Thundercracker with a smirk. "Nerdy 'Screamer is just jealous that all he's going to be is a bookworm while I'm going to be the best fighter and you're going to be the best flier Cybertron has ever seen," His purple optics widened excitedly and he threw his arm over the blue youngling's shoulders. "We'll become Seekers and be the best of the best! TC and 'Warp! The universe's best Seekers- no, wait, TC and 'Warp the universe's _elite Seekers_. We'll be unstoppable!"

The older flier just laughed as the two younglings started to make plans on becoming 'seekers'. He turned to see Starscream get up and head for the door. "You're not going to join TC and 'Warp, Starscream?"

The red youngling shook his head, "I'm too old for silly stories like that. I need to focus on my studies and not goofy myths."

The black flier walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "No one is too old for a good story and there is plenty of time to study later. Can't you give a little time to pretend like the others?"

Starscream looked over at the other two younglings sadly as they animatedly made plans, "No, I can't."

The flier knelt beside the youngling, "Okay. You don't have to play make believe with them, but there has to be something you want to do besides study."

The red youngling looked at his friends, then into the worldly green optics before finally casting his optics down. "Can you-?" he voice drifted off.

"Hmm?"

"Can you-?" Starscream fidgeted and looked to the side, his voice barely a whisper. "Can- can you teach me how to- how to fight?"

The flier tilted his head to one side curiously, "Yeah, I can do that. You three are about the age to start learning anyways." He patted the youngling's shoulder. "I'll just need to ask your creator-"

Wide, panic filled purple optics locked with green. "No! You can't! I mean-"

The older mech shifted over from where was, repositioning himself between Starscream and the other younglings. The red mech was staring at the ground as the flier watched him carefully. "We have to ask for permission. I can't teach you without your creator knowing. Your creator needs to know in case you get hurt."

"I won't get hurt, I promise."

"Starscream, I have to get their permission."

The youngling sighed and shook his head as he opened the door, "Never mind then."

--

The sound of the door closing and the older mech getting up off his knees drew the other younglings' attention, "Where did 'Screamer go?"

The mech looked at the door strangely, crossing his arms over his cockpit and tapping his fingers on his elbow. He turned to look at the other two who were getting off their chairs, his optics falling on the blue mech, "You know… I haven't seen your mother-creator in a while, TC. How about you show me where your place is?"

--

"Why do you want to talk to my mother-creator?" The blue youngling looked up curiously at the much larger black flier.

Green optics grinned at Thundercracker, "Because I'm going to ask her if I can teach you the basics of fighting."

"We're going to learn how to fight for real?!" Skywarp hyperly jumped around them as the three walked over to Thundercracker's house.

"That's only if he can get permission, 'Warp. If he can't, then you'll have to wait until you go to the Academy."

"No way!" Wide purple optics glared at the older flier, "I can't wait that long!"

The black flier smacked his youngling in the back of the head, "You'll have to. I won't teach you if TC and Starscream can't get permission."

"But why!" Skywarp whined as he hopped around them, "_That's so not fair!"_

"I'm not teaching you because I don't want you to practice on them, that's why."

Skywarp grabbed Thundercracker's arm and pulled on him, jumping up and down excitedly, "You just have to get her to say yes. You have to! Have to have to have to!!"

The blue youngling could barely keep upright with his over exuberant friend nearly ripping his arm off.

Starscream had retaken his place on his stoop and was reading when the others came around the corner. The older flier took one look at the red mech sitting there hunched up alone and frowned, he was such an odd sparkling. Extracting Skywarp from Thundercracker's arm long enough to get the mech to point out his home was a difficult task, but once he got the information, he let the two run over to the red sparkling.

The flier shook his wings and gave himself a once over; he wasn't as polished up as he would have liked to be to visit a femme, especially this one, but it wasn't really a social call he was making. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, casually turning to look at the three across the street. The two sparklings were trying to get Starscream to stop reading and off the stoop. He heard the door unlock and he turned around with his best smile for the femme.

The sleek-winged femme opened the door to find the broad-winged flier with green optics smiling at her. "Hello, Nebula."

"Nice to see you, Stealthshadow. Is there something I can help you with?"

The black mech motioned with his head to the younglings across the street, "I wanted to ask you if I could start to teach Thundercracker some basic fighting skills."

The blue femme frowned and looked past him at the younglings, "They are getting close to that age, aren't they?"

He nodded and turned to look as well, "Heh, yeah. Before we know it, we'll be taking them to get their first upgraded protoforms." He looked back to her with a spreading grin. "And I'll assume that you'll be teaching them to fly?"

She gave a wistful sigh, "Yes. That's all Thundercracker talks about. Becoming a flier and Skywarp and Starscream."

"'Warp wants to be a flier as well, and there isn't another flier on the planet that I would trust to teach him than you."

The femme looked at the black flier strangely, "You could teach him."

"Nah, I'm getting too old for that. And I'm only going to teach them defensive skills. I don't need to rush 'Warp to a medic if he does something stupid."

She laughed, "Hopefully, Starscream and Thundercracker will keep him from doing anything too rash."

He smirked and turned to look across the street at the three younglings; Starscream was trying to fight off the other two and losing. "I wish some of their good behavior would rub off on him, but I guess that's a pipe dream." He turned around to face her again, "Which leads me to my next question."

She stopped watching the younglings and looked at him, "Hmm?"

"What do you know about Starscream and his creator?"

"You better come inside. This might take awhile and you might need a drink."

--

"Okay. So I found out from my father-creator that flier trines and quads have their own communications channel. It's a specific comlink that only they can use and it can't be hacked into." Skywarp's purple optics glittered as he looked back and forth between his friends.

Thundercracker tilted his head to one side curiously, "So?"

"So…" Skywarp started to grin in such a way that the others knew he had come up with another daft plan. "So, since we're going to be wingmates, we should have our own comlink! That way we can talk to each other any time we want to!"

Starscream rolled his optics and went back to reading his data pad.

"But we don't know if we'll be wingmates, 'Warp. That's decided at the Fighting Academy, and they put trines and quads together based on skill and compatibility." Thundercracker looked back at the sullen Starscream, "And we don't really know if we'd be… skilled enough to fly together."

"Like slag we'll be skilled! We're going to be the best fliers and fighters ever seen on Cybertron in millions of years!" Skywarp gestured animatedly. "Besides, we'll be all set for being a trine by the time we get to the Academy. We'll start practicing now!"

"But, 'Warp…" Thundercracker motioned with his head to the reading form of Starscream, trying to get the youngling to clue into the fact that they didn't know if Starscream had any interest in becoming a flier, "We're not sure if we'll be in the same level at the Academy. Some of us might be ahead of the others."

"So, we'll just have to practice harder to keep up with the others! We are going to stick together through the University and the Academy, aren't we?" He looked between Thundercracker and the still reading form of Starscream. Suddenly he face fell. Maybe they didn't want to be his wingmates. "You two aren't going to abandon me, are you? I thought we were friends till the bitter end."

"Of course I'm not going to abandon you, 'Warp. But…" The blue youngling looked at the red one, "You never know what can happen."

Skywarp finally got the hint and put his hand over the screen of Starscream's data pad, worry and hurt in his voice. "You're not going to abandon us, are you, 'Screamer?"

The red youngling finally looked up at the two now that he had been put on the spot. Skywarp's pleading face made him frown, but it was the sudden look of hurt that passed between the black and the blue mechs that made him feel guilty. "…no, I-"

Thundercracker looked crestfallen, "You don't want to be fliers with us?"

He was torn. He wanted to be a scientist, but he also didn't want to lose his friends. He finally squeaked an answer before looking away, "I don't know…"

"Oh." Skywarp and Thundercracker shared sad and disappointed glances. "Well…"

Thundercracker stood up and moved to the bottom of the stoop, "We'll just let you go back to your studying."

Skywarp followed the blue youngling. "…Yeah."

It suddenly felt very cold on the stoop, and Starscream looked over to where his friends had moved. They were very hurt that he didn't say yes. He looked at the data pad and its text on astronomical phenomenon and then at the backs of his two best friends. Skywarp's father-creator did mention something about the Academy needing fliers for research missions…

Starscream put the data pad down and got up, moving to stand right behind Thundercracker and Skywarp. "Oh all right. So we're going to be fliers."

"No," Skywarp turned around with a mischievous smirk. "We're going to be Seekers."

"But that was just a silly story…"

"So we'll make it real." The black mech's smirk grew.

Thundercracker's face lit up with an excited grin, "And we'll be wingmates in our very own trine."

"And we'll be the best fighters."

"And the best fliers."

"Friends 'til the bitter end!"

The blue and black mech's were grinning wildly as they went on about what they would become.

Starscream sighed and sat down next to them. "Okay, okay. So we go through the University and the Academy together."

Skywarp turned to face Starscream with a knowing smirk, "But we have to do something first."

The red mech looked at him, "What?"

"We need our own comlink system."

Starscream didn't like the look Skywarp was giving him. "And just how are we going to get that, you glitch mouse?"

"Easy!" He grinned at Thundercracker and Starscream. "Since you're the smart one, you're going to make them for us!"

--


	7. Spare Parts

**A/N:** _I've had most of this written for quite awhile now, but I needed to get to a certain point in my other story before I could post this one. Hope you enjoy youngling Seeker antics!_

**Chapter 7 – Spare Parts **

Thundercracker and Starscream were already sitting on the front stoop when Skywarp came barreling down the street with a box tucked under one arm. He might have thought he was being discrete about the package, but in his over exuberance it appeared like he had just stolen the box. The black youngling skidded to a stop in front of the others and shoved the box into the red youngling's lap. "I got everything we need."

Starscream stared at the box for a moment, puzzled as to what Skywarp meant. "For what?"

The black mech huffed in annoyance and sat down next to the red mech. "The comlink system! You said you were going to make them!"

Starscream looked up at him and shook his head. "Noooo. I did not say I was going to make them. You volunteered me to make them."

"Eh, technicalities." The black youngling shrugged as he reached over and opened the box. "I got everything you would need to make them."

The red mech looked inside the box at the myriad of springs, grease covered gears, stripped bolts, different lengths of wire and other bits of strange kibble. "I don't think this stuff will make a comlink system, 'Warp."

Thundercracker peered into the box as well. "It's just a box of old junk."

Skywarp's face fell. "But 'Screamer is smart… he can do it. Can't you, 'Screamer?"

The youngling pulled a cog with missing teeth from the box. "I, uh…"

"I know you can do it, 'Screamer." The black mech urged his friend.

"Where did you get all of this anyway, 'Warp?" The blue mech pulled out a lopsided spring and eyed it strangely.

"My father-creator's closet. He thinks I can't get in, but I can. He keeps all sorts of things in there, like his weapons from the war and those data pads he's always reading."

Thundercracker nearly jumped off the stoop, his purple optics wide in alarm. "You didn't bring any of his weapons, did you?"

"Pfft. No. Most of them are bigger than I am… but the cluster grenades, I brought some of those. I thought 'Screamer could use some of them for the comlink system."

The blue youngling fell off the steps this time and back peddled across the sidewalk trying to put as much distance between him and the box.

Skywarp started to grin evilly. "What's wrong, TC? You look like you're about to purge your fuel tank." He reached into the box and started to rummage through it. "Here. I brought a lot of them, we can play catch while 'Screamer is working."

Starscream carefully tried to scoot the box out of his lap, his own optics as wide as Thundercracker's. He knew from reading the medical texts that explosive devices like grenades were ninety-five percent lethal to mechanoids.

"Aha! Found one!" Skywarp pulled his hand out of the box quickly as the other two tried to get up and run away. Thundercracker was hit in the shoulder with a large greasy bolt and a piston ring smacked Starscream's arm. Both younglings yelped and Skywarp flopped heavily down on the stoop his small arms wrapped around his midriff, his body convulsing from the laughter. "Hahaha! I got you two glitch-mice good!"

Two sets of angry purple optics turned to glare at the laughing black youngling. Small hands dipped into the box of junk, pulling out impromptu missiles and pelting Skywarp with them. Yet he still rolled on the ground laughing even with the greasy junk raining down on his body. In a matter of nano-seconds the stoop was covered with the kibble and the black youngling was trying to rein in his laughing fit.

Thundercracker sat back down on the stoop, glaring at Skywarp. "That wasn't funny, 'Warp."

"You're right, that wasn't funny" The offending mech tried to stifle another round of giggles. "It was fraggin' hilarious!"

Starscream dropped the box on the next step down. "'Warp. I don't know how to make a comlink system and even if I did, I don't think any of this stuff can be used for it."

The black youngling started to pick up the greasy kibble. "So what do you need to make them?"

A loud martyred sigh came from the red mech. "I. Don't. Know. How many times to I have to say it, 'Warp? I don't know how to make them."

Skywarp cocked his head to the side. "But you know a lot about computers and how stuff works, why don't you just make the comlinks from what you already know?"

"Because I -"

The red youngling looked to the blue mech who only shook his head. "Don't look at me. He's dead set on this and you know once he gets an idea he won't stop pestering us about it."

"I know you can do it, 'Screamer."

The red youngling put his head into his greasy hands and shuttered his optics. He stayed like that for a few minutes until a worried Thundercracker gently shook his shoulder. "You okay, 'Screamer?"

Starscream nodded, his optics coming back online, "Hand me that data pad."

--

In under a jour and with data pad in hand, the three stood in front of the locked door to the forbidden closet.

"I don't think this is a good idea, 'Warp. You said he keeps weapons in here and you're not supposed to go in there and what if he comes home? I don't want him to call my mother-creator and get in trouble." Thundercracker looked nervously between the two mechs.

"Don't be a glitch-mouse, TC. Besides he never goes in here unless he's getting more of those holopads with the pictures of the femmes. He won't even know that anything is gone." Skywarp procured a flat-head spanner and started to jimmy the lock.

There was a loud click and the forbidden door swung open revealing its treasures to the three sparklings. It was a small room more than a closet, with most of the walls covered with different weapons ranging from simple guns to exotic blades. Thundercracker stepped away from the door, his conscious now telling him this wasn't just a bad idea: this was a dangerous idea. "I don't think…"

"Whatever, TC. You want to be a robo-chicken, fine. But we're going to get stuff for the comlinks, right 'Screamer?" Skywarp grabbed the red mech's arm and dragged him inside the forbidden room before the youngling could protest.

Halfway into the room Starscream stopped, amazed at the amount of gear that was neatly stacked and organized around them. "Look at all the technical manuals…" He walked over to a sturdy bookcase and pulled out a pad about battle armor designs. He accessed the pad and skimmed through the first pages, his optics drinking up the design specs for properly equipping protoforms with the most effective armor. His optics drifted up to the shelf and scanned the titles organized there. "'Advanced Energon Weapon Design and Creation', 'Advanced Wraith Technology', 'Assimilating Alien Technology', 'The CEG Survival Guide for Off-World Expeditions', 'Cryptography and Ciphers', 'Guide to Wraith Weaponry', 'Hand-to-Hand Battle Techniques', 'Identification Guide of Alien Ships', 'Protoform Formatting', 'P.O.W. Mind Partitioning Programming', 'Wraith-Class Field Medic Handbook', 'Wraith and Cybertronian Battlefield Sign Language', 'Wraith Protoform Camouflage'… What is a 'wraith'?"

Skywarp had been digging through a crate of unknown gear. "Wraiths are an elite fighting force."

"I've never heard of them. What branch of the Guard are they in?" Thundercracker was in the doorway, curious but cautiously watching the others.

The black youngling stood up with a new box of strange kibble. "They aren't. They're the covert operations force."

"Covert operations? Like spies?"

"Yeah kinda. But they do more than just spy on the enemy. They know all about weapons and explosives and survival." Skywarp put the new box to one side and moved over to another one. "They know all sorts of stuff."

"Including how to put alarms on doors and sneak up on misbehaving sparklings." The air shimmered in the middle of the room and Stealthshadow appeared, his arms over his chest and giving Skywarp a reproving look. "How many times have I told you to stay out of here?"

Skywarp sighed at getting caught and looked away from his father-creator. "A lot of times…"

The worldly green optics swung around to look at a completely petrified Starscream clinging tightly to a data pad and then to a horrified Thundercracker who had moved out of the doorway. "You weren't a very good lookout, Thundercracker."

The horrified optics of the blue mech nearly popped out of his face. "But I-"

_No one will trust a warrior in a battle if he leaves his comrades behind. And trusting your comrades is essential if you want to stay alive._ Those words rang true to the black youngling. "…He wasn't a look out. He didn't want to come in or open the door." Skywarp scuffed a foot against the floor sullenly.

Worldly green optics turned their gaze onto the trembling red youngling who was trying to hide behind the data pad. "And your excuse?"

"…I dragged him in here. He saw the data pads and didn't touch anything. It's my fault they're even here." The black youngling half-heartedly kicked at a nearby box.

The older flier looked back and forth between the other two. "Is that true?"

The frightened younglings didn't move.

The flier shuttered his optics and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What are you doing in here, Skywarp?"

"…Just looking for stuff."

"What stuff? Because if I find out that you even touched one of the guns-"

"No one touched any guns. We needed- I needed stuff to build a comlink system." The youngling shuffled uncomfortably in his spot.

The flier gazed at the three younglings in disbelief. "You need a comlink?"

"We- we- we were going to build our own." Starscream stuttered in a voice three octaves higher than usual.

"A comlink?" He glanced around at the sparklings again. "Why do I not believe you? None of you could build a working comlink."

"It's the truth. 'Screamer could. He's fixed our grease guns a lot and made new nozzles for them." Skywarp gave a worried look to his father-creator and then to Starscream. "Show him the data pad."

A very shaky red hand lifted up his data pad. The flier took it from him, flipping it on and reading over the contents quickly. Worldly green optics glanced up at the red youngling, "This doesn't have specs for a comlink."

Starscream gave a weak nod. "It's just a basic concept…"

The flier looked at the data pad again, and then back at the youngling. "You designed this?"

Starscream looked at the floor.

He stepped around the youngling and scanned the bookcase before pulling out two data pads and handing them to the still trembling Starscream. "Read over those and then bring me your design. You have until this time tomorrow to complete it, and if you are serious about the comlink system I'll help you get the parts for them."

--

Blue and black forms sat huddled around Starscream as he worked, accessing the reference data pads and adjusting and correcting the specifications for their comlink system. His self-esteem was bolstered by Stealthshadow's interest in his scribbled design, but the time limit on completing it was starting to wear on him. Add his friend's close proximity and over eagerness and the little mech was starting to feel claustrophobic. "I can't work like this if you two won't give me some room! I can barely see the data pads!"

Thundercracker backed away from Starscream, but Skywarp still hovered over the red mech. The blue youngling started to flick the forehead of the black one with his fingers until he got a reaction. "Move back, 'Warp. He said he can't work with us right over him."

Begrudgingly, the black mech moved away from Starscream with a martyred sigh. "How much longer until you're done, 'Screamer?"

The red youngling muttered. "I'd be further along if you'd stop asking me that."

The blue mech stood up and walked across the stoop. "Come on, 'Warp. Let's do something to stay out of his way."

"Like?"

Thundercracker grinned as he pulled Skywarp to his feet. "We'll be right back, 'Screamer, so you can work in peace."

The two younglings received a grunt and a half wave from the red mech. They took that response as a blessing to leave and the blue youngling dragged the other across the street. Running over to Thundercracker's house, they pushed the door open and bounded through the front room. The blue youngling glanced about before he finally saw what he was looking for and dove enthusiastically for it. He held up his treasure for his friend to see. "Look at this!"

Skywarp stared at the data pad in awe, "'Greatest Battles of the Guardian Fliers.'" He grabbed the pad from Thundercracker, "Where did you get this?"

The blue youngling gave his friend a triumphant look, "My mother-creator got it for me," He flicked the data pad on and pointed to the table of contents. "It even has diagrams about the maneuvers."

The two younglings stood there in the middle of the room reading from different pages as they flipped through the text. They were so wrapped up in the data pad that they were unaware that Starscream had entered, his data pads clutched closely to his chest as if he was worried some one would try to steal them from him. He peered over their shoulders at the text, his optics glancing at the descriptions of aerial fighting techniques.

"You think we can fly like that, TC?"

Thundercracker and Skywarp jumped in surprise at hearing Starscream's voice. The red mech grinned and gingerly held out the data pad. "It's done."

Skywarp 'whooped' loudly as he grabbed a hold of his friends by their shoulders and dragged them out of the house and down the street. "WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR OWN COMLINKS!"

--

Stealthshadow took the data pad from the excited red youngling with a knowing smirk. The sparkling was smart, there was no doubt about that; but all younglings had grand dreams and loved to play make-believe. He would humor the three and promise to help them build a toy comlink, or he could be mean and tell them that it would take awhile to get the parts, and keep that lie up until they lost interest.

He flipped the pad on with a grin, "Well lets see what you've got here."

Ready to make the first comments about how it was a good start, he scanned the first page… and stopped abruptly. In the most fastidious handwriting he had ever seen was the blueprint for a close-circuited and completely functional comlink system. The design was elegant with equations for a constant roaming digital frequency modulation – perfect for thwarting cyberspies from hacking into private communications channels. It would make ciphering obsolete.

He glanced up suspiciously at the three smiling younglings, his optics finally resting on Starscream. He was smart, but not smart enough to design this. He must have found and copied this design from another data pad. "Good try, but you shouldn't be passing off someone else's work as your own. Where did you get this from?"

The smile on Starscream's face fell, "I- I didn't copy it…"

Skywarp got angry, "He's been working on that all day! We watched him and he didn't cheat on it!"

Thundercracker watched as Skywarp stood up to his father-creator and Starscream fold in on himself. The red youngling had been so excited about the faith that the flier had put into him… He put his hand on his friend's shoulder trying to distract the youngling from the accusation of cheating. He had never spoken back to an adult before, but this instance called for it. "Forget about what he says and thinks, 'Screamer. We know you didn't cheat or copy it." He cast a glance up at Skywarp's father-creator whose attention he had drawn. "We know just how smart you are. Just save the data pad until we get into the Academy."

Worldly green optics widened at the outburst from Thundercracker. The near violent outburst from his own youngling was to be expected, but the backtalk from the calm blue youngling was quite startling.

The flier moved towards the forbidden room, unlocking the door and entering the small room wordlessly. There was one way he could find out if the design was somewhat original. It had been a few years since he had used the Wraith Ultranet, but a handful of security updates would give him access to any recorded information, whether it was from the Academies or the government.

He inserted the data pad into the Ultranet scanner and turned to look at the three younglings: Skywarp glared daggers at him while Thundercracker was attempting to pull a despondent Starscream towards the door. The black flier pointed at them and commanded them to place their afts at the table. He realized as he watched them sit down that Skywarp seemed to always sit at Starscream's right while Thundercracker sat at his left, as if they were already taking point in a triad position... or protecting him.

The Ultranet scans came back empty and worldly green optics turned to peer at Starscream and the other younglings – if the sparkling was this intelligent now, who knows what he could become later in life. Actually, with Starscream's intelligence, Thundercracker's passion, and Skywarp's exuberance, all three younglings could be the most impressive triad Cybertron ever produced.

The flier brought the data pad over to the table and set it down. "Starscream, look at me."

Scared purple optics glance up briefly before dipping back down to the floor.

He sighed. "I want you to tell me the truth. Did you really design this?"

The smallest nod came from the youngling.

The black flier shook his head, "This is slaggin' brilliant."

Purple optics widened at the comment and Starscream looked up into worldly green optics – the need for recognition and praise for accomplishing something was very evident in his face.

"I want to show it to a buddy of mine - and don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't steal the design. He should be able to tell me what you would need to make these." Purple optics widened even more. Nebula was right; the youngling desperately needed a positive role model. "When I bring back what we need to make these, I want to store these designs in the closet, at least until you three get to the Academy. We don't need these to fall into some entrepreneur's hands."

Skywarp started to shake Starscream's arm rapidly. "We're going to have our own comlink! I knew you could do this, 'Screamer!"

--

The black flier opened the door to the Guardian Flier's recreation center with the three younglings in tow. He waved in greeting to a few of the mechs there as he led them over to an empty room with mats covering the floors. He put his hands on his hips and smirked at the three. "This is your first day at boot camp, femmes. You are going to learn to hate me and wish your creator had never sparked you."

Skywarp snickered. "You already wish that."

Worldly green optics brightened and a wicked grin spread over the flier's faceplate. "Okay, femme. You just volunteered yourself for the first exercise. Front and center, now."

The bored black youngling slouched over to where his father-creator had pointed.

The flier knelt down to be on a level with the youngling. "Alright, femme. Try to hit me with your best shot."

Skywarp popped his knuckles with a smirk, "Get ready to meet Primus."

The older mech held his hands out and motioned the youngling to 'bring it'.

The youngling lunged for his father-creator, his little right fist balled up for his attack…

And the older mech caught it easily in his hand. "You have to do better than that, femme."

Skywarp stepped back with both fists now balled up and his jaw clenched tightly. With a growl he lunged at the flier again and was pushed back with ease. "Hmmm, maybe they got the sparklings mixed up at the clinic because I'd think my creation would actually be able to throw a punch."

The black youngling snarled and threw himself at his creator. The larger mech held his hand out and kept the angry youngling at bay, smirking at how Skywarp blustered furiously. "Looks like I have my work cut out for me if this is how all three of you try to fight."

Skywarp backed off and then barreled at the flier, who even though he was still on his knees, slid to one side and let his youngling land face first on the mat.

"A lot of work."


	8. Call It Destiny

A/N: In case anyone was wondering, the holopads that Stealthshadow always seems to be looking at are comprised mostly of pictures of femmes. I just imagine him as a happily retired soldier enjoying looking at feminine figures. I also made mention of his having a wandering optic previously when he discussed TC's mother-creator as 'a beautiful streak of blue across the skies and one of the best fliers in the corp' and then makes half of a comment about 'what he would have given to-' before he catches himself and realizes that there are two younglings listening to him ramble. Stealthshadow has a dirty mind XD.

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed and reviews are given much love! And now I bring you another chapter of our favorite Seekers!

**Chapter 8** – Call it Destiny

A slight smirk spread across the blue youngling's faceplate - he was still having problems with schooling his emotions to throw his opponent off guard, but that was a minor problem when placed alongside his speed. He readied his stance and shook out his small shoulders, placed his left foot in front of the other, and centered his lithe body over his hips. A deep intake of air steadied his systems and focused his attention on the much larger flier kneeling in front of him.

Stealthshadow motioned with just his fingers for the youngling to come at him. "I don't have all day to wait for you, Thundercracker. Are you going to attack me or are you going to stand there shivering like a sparkling? Bring it or let one of the others attack."

Using his right foot to propel him, Thundercracker darted forward at the flier. Purple optics narrowed as he saw the older mech's arm shoot out to catch him, but the youngling was prepared for the move. He dashed to one side and crossed his arms in front his chest in a defensive posture ready to block the other mech if need be; but his feigned dodge did what he intended it to do and took the flier by surprise. The extremely agile youngling planted his left foot and launched himself into the air, somersaulting gracefully over the Stealthshadow's shoulder and tagging the back of his ebony wings with both hands. He nailed a perfect landing some feet away from the flier and pivoted sharply on his toes to face the mech with his fists raised.

"WHOO! You got him good, TC!" Skywarp cheered for his best friend.

Worldly green optics gazed proudly at one of his young protégés; the blue youngling's skill and grace spoke volumes of his potential as a flier, and Thundercracker would easily surpass his own flying skills in maybe a vorn. Not that he was out of shape for flying by any means, the Wraith only chose the elite for a reason, but the youngling was **that **good. The Guardian Fliers would be tripping over their own wings just to get Thundercracker to join their ranks.

The blue mech relaxed as he stood there grinning, exchanging hyper glances between his friends and his teacher. Stealthshadow chuckled and pointed at Thundercracker, "You keep that up and I won't be able to catch you…" His black leg shot out from behind him and swept the startled youngling off his feet.

Thundercracker blinked in shocked surprise as the black flier stood and walked over to the stunned youngling. He offered his hand to the blue mech, who stared at him. "You can't stand there admiring your work. You complete your attack and keep moving, because the instant you stop or hesitate is the moment they will hit back."

The youngling got up and took his place over by Skywarp on the mats, nursing his slightly bruised ego. The usually mouthy black mech patted his best friend's shoulder, "You'll get him, TC. Don't worry."

It was Starscream's turn next and he looked nervously between his friends and the much larger black flier. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…

Stealthshadow beckoned to him, "Come on, Starscream. I know you've been studying this, lets see if you can put some action to those words."

"But…"

"No 'but's. Plant your feet and go."

He moved into the defensive position that Stealthshadow had schooled them on and took his stance, crossing his arms in front of his chest and steeling his jaw. The red mech was, for the most part, able to keep his emotions in check and his face calm, but there were occasions when the youngling's face twisted into an angry snarl right before he made his attack; those attacks usually failed, but his defenses improved exponentially.

Starscream circled air through his systems as his optics roved over Stealthshadow's frame looking for a chink in his armor. Out of all three younglings the red mech was the most calculating, looking for an opening in his opponents defenses before committing to an attack. Each youngling had developed specific strategies for attacking and defending. Skywarp usually attacked head-on using speed and brute force in an attempt to overwhelm his opponent, while Thundercracker used his agility and speed to swoop in and hit, and Starscream planned his moves before committing an attack. If all three simultaneously attacked, their target wouldn't stand a chance in the Pit for coming out of the fight in relatively one piece.

The red youngling centered himself and his purple optics locked with the worldly green optics of the flier; Starscream obviously thought he had found an opening in his defenses.

"Life is passing us by, Starscream. Are you going to do some-"

The red mech rushed towards him – a brash move that was very unlike his usual attacks; he must have assumed that a change of tactics would throw the flier off guard. Stealthshadow reached out to grab the youngling when Starscream dropped to the mats and slid the remaining distance towards the flier on his side. The larger mech lunged to grab at him when both of the youngling's feet struck his bad knee. Using the momentum from the double kick to the older mech's knee, Starscream launched himself into a practiced back flip away from the flier, landing on his feet some distance away and out of Stealthshadow's reach.

The rotten youngling _had_ found the weak point in his defenses. Years of training and fighting in the Scintillian war kept Stealthshadow's features from demonstrating any pain he felt, but that wasn't to say that the kick the sparkling had dealt him didn't smart. "Why you little-"

Purple optics widened in horror and the youngling back peddled across the mats and away from the flier.

Stealthshadow slowly got to his feet with a mental complaint that he might not be able to keep up with the sparklings as he trained them. And he didn't mean to scare the youngling, but the little fragger got him good. He limped over to where Starscream cowered by the other younglings and offered his hand to help him up. "I think I'll take your advice on getting a medic to fix my knee," He looked at the red mech expectantly. "I think that's enough practice for today."

"But we were just got started."

"Why are we stopping now? We always work for three joors."

"I wanted to try again!"

Starscream had finally taken his hand and he lifted the youngling to his feet. "Tomorrow," He glanced at the disappointed younglings. He had started them out on the basic defensive moves, and they had graduated to light attacks at a rapid pace with relatively few injuries; but if they continued to improve at this rate he would need to move beyond the basics. "We'll work on attacks again tomorrow."

There was the hiss of a subspace pocket opening as Stealthshadow pulled three data pads out of virtually nowhere. He passed the data pads out to the younglings and sat down in front of them, "Turn them on, femmes."

"The Cybertronian Elite Guard's Survival Guide?" Thundercracker looked up at the flier while Skywarp peeked at Starscream's data pad, "What is this for?"

Stealthshadow easily leaned back on his hands with a mischievous grin spreading across his faceplate. "Homework."

Three sets of wide purple optics looked up at him and intoned in unison. "Homework?"

"That's right, femmes. Surviving in a fight is one thing, surviving in a hostile environment is completely different. And since I can't take you three out and dump you in the badlands like I should, you'll have to learn how to survive and take care of yourself by the book. Which means homework." He pointed to the data pad in Thundercracker's hands. "First three chapters read with the corresponding questions completed and ready to be returned to me by tomorrow. Show your work and don't cheat. Oh," The grin spread further. "Did I mention there will be a test?"

All three younglings groaned and the flier got up slowly and shooed them out of the training room. "Go play for a bit, but don't forget to do your homework."

They shuffled outside with data pads in hand and walked slowly back to Thundercracker's house where they slumped against the stoop. Skywarp threw his arm over his optics dramatically and sighed. "I can't believe he gave us homework! We're supposed to be learning how to fight and defend ourselves, not this stuff!" He waved his data pad in the air and moaned, "_This isn't fair!_"

Thundercracker just shrugged as Starscream turned the data pad back on and looked over the contents on the chapters. "It could be worse…"

Skywarp gave a martyred sigh as he shut his optics, "What could be worse then _this_?"

"He could be lecturing us while we took notes."

--

"Thundercracker? It's getting late. You need to start getting ready for recharge." The dark blue femme called up the stairs to her sparkling.

"I will after the next flier patrol!" He tried to keep the slightly panicked feeling out of his voice as he knelt over the data pad with a stylus in his shaking hand. The youngling had read and reread the three chapters and was now proofreading his answers. He wasn't quite sure how detailed of answers he needed to give – especially since the other two were taking completely different approaches in showing their work.

"Hey 'Screamer, what's the answer to number nine?" Skywarp's voice came over the comlink.

"Will you please keep your voice down, 'Warp?" Starscream hissed back at the black mech. "And you're supposed to be doing your own work!"

"Fine. Hey TC? What's the answer to number nine?"

Listening to the two of them bicker over their new com-system was just fueling his panic, "Do it yourself, 'Warp. I have to get ready for recharge and I'm not done yet." He could hear the familiar thrumming from the flier patrols as they made another pass across the night skies. "'Screamer? How detailed do you think the answers need to be?"

"Well, I've written out the exact definitions and cross-referenced the sections with footnotes to the pages where the answers are found…"

Thundercracker groaned loudly as his spark sank, "I'm not doing this right! I've got the answers down, but it doesn't _look_ right and I've reread the chapters in case I missed something… I'm going to fail this!"

Starscream's voice was surprising calm and level. "You are not going to fail, TC. Everyone learns in a different way. There is no wrong way to learn this; the answers are explicitly in the reading, so even if you're like 'Warp you can still find the information."

Skywarp growled, "Okay you dirty slagger, so if it's in the reading, then where in the Pit is the answer for number nine?"

"YOU ROTTEN GLITCH!" A furious and deep voice bellowed from somewhere in the background of the red youngling's house. "WHAT THE FRAK ARE YOU DOING?! GET YOUR SLAGGIN' AFT DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

"I've got to go!" Starscream's voice jumped a few octaves higher than normal before the comlink cut off completely.

Skywarp and Thundercracker were silent on their ends of the com-system for a few nano-kliks.

"Hey, 'Warp?"

"Yeah, TC?"

"What was that about?"

"I don't know."

There was a soft knock on the doorframe to Thundercracker's room. "It's time for recharge."

The blue youngling shut off the data pad and stowed the stylus he had been using, "I have to go, 'Warp. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait TC!"

"What?"

"What's the answer to number nine?"

Thundercracker sighed, "It's in the reading. Reread the chapter and find the section that deals with it. I'll see you tomorrow." The youngling didn't wait for Skywarp to ask again and turned off his com-system.

"Did you finish the work Stealthshadow gave you?" Thundercracker's mother-creator sat down on the edge of his recharge berth as her sparkling got up from where he sat by the window.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I did it correctly." The blue mech looked up into her kind smile after he crawled onto the berth. "It's hard to tell if I did what I was supposed to do. I tried to find out from 'Screamer, but… well, he's 'Screamer. And 'Warp wasn't much better because, well, he's 'Warp."

She ran her hand down his cheek comfortingly, "Did you try your best?"

Thundercracker nodded. "I even reread it and went back over all my work."

"I'm sure you did just fine." She got up from his berth and walked over to the door to turn out the lights. "Goodnight, love."

"What if-"

His worried voice prompted her to flick the lights back on, "What if?"

The youngling pursed his lips trying to put his thoughts into words. "What if you think something is wrong… but you're not really sure if it is…wrong. What do you do?"

She walked back over to him and sat down on his berth, "Well, I would tell someone I trusted about it."

He nodded slowly.

"Is there something wrong?"

"I'm not sure…"

She caressed his face, "You know that if you ever need to talk to someone you can come to me or to Skywarp's father-creator for help."

He still seemed troubled and she placed a kiss on his forehead, "If it still bothers you tomorrow we can talk about it, okay? Try to get some recharge."

The light went out in his room, but Thundercracker could not fall into recharge with the yelling he heard from Starscream's comlink playing over and over again in his mind.

--

Skywarp bounded down the stairs and over to where his father-creator was sitting at the table. The black flier didn't look up from the holopad he was reading, "Did you finish your homework?"

The youngling threw himself in the chair across from him with a sigh, "Yes and no."

Worldly green optics looked at him over the top of the holopad, "No?"

"…I can't find this one answer." Skywarp tossed the data pad onto the table. "I even tried to ask 'Screamer and TC about it, but they wouldn't help."

"What did I tell you about cheating?"

"I wasn't cheating! I just couldn't find the answer and it was only for one question!" He crossed his small arms in front of him and sulked. "I got the others all by myself."

Stealthshadow set his holopad down and picked up the data pad, "Which question?"

"Number nine… I even reread everything."

The flier flipped through a couple of pages until he found the right one, "It's in this section. And that's all the help you're getting from me." He handed the data pad back to his sparkling and went back to reading his holopad.

Skywarp read over the text but found himself unable to concentrate, tapping his stylus restlessly on the table. He glanced at his father-creator as the mech lounged there with his feet up; the youngling set the data pad down and stared at the table. "Hey."

A green optic appeared over the top of the holopad again. "Hey what?"

"What if…" Skywarp stopped and debated if this was a good idea.

"What if what?"

"What if… No, what if you… Well…"

"Spit it out already."

The youngling gave his father-creator a dirty look. "Fine. What if there is something wrong and you're not sure what you can do about it, what do you do?"

The holopad went down again and Stealthshadow looked at his sparkling, "Depends on what exactly is wrong."

Skywarp pushed his data pad around the table with his fingers. "I heard something… that I don't think I was supposed to hear."

"When?"

The black youngling didn't meet his creator's gaze and decided this wasn't as good of an idea as he originally thought. "While we were playing. I heard some yelling."

Worldly green optics narrowed. "What did you hear?"

Skywarp glanced up at his creator, "Just some yelling."

"Just some yelling?"

Skywarp put the end of his stylus in his mouth, "Mmm-hmm. What would you do?"

"There would be a couple of things I would do," He leveled his gaze at Skywarp. "If it sounds like someone is in danger, then I would call for help. If I suspected someone might be in trouble, then I would tell someone about it."

The youngling stopped pushing his data pad around and glared at the table, obviously weighing his thoughts.

"Skywarp."

The youngling's head snapped up suddenly at the sound of his name. "Yeah?"

Stealthshadow had a feeling that he knew where the yelling had come from and there was no careful way to broach this subject; but if anyone knew for sure what was happening, it would be the younglings. "Is someone in trouble?"

"Huh?" Skywarp was thrown by the question.

"Do you think someone you know is in trouble?"

The youngling hesitated and screwed up his face in a frown. The yelling he heard sounded pretty bad, but maybe 'Screamer had done something his creator wasn't happy about. Like sneaking into the forbidden closet. He cast a glance to the door of the room, "I don't think so…"

The flier watched his youngling and noted the turmoil in his face. "You would tell me if you thought someone was in trouble, right?"

"Yeah," Skywarp turned and looked at his father-creator. "I would."

Worldly green optics held the gaze of purple optics for a few moments before Stealthshadow tapped his finger on the data pad. "Finish your homework and then get ready for recharge. You have a long day tomorrow of practice and tests."

With the mention of homework, the black youngling gave a martyred sigh and pulled the data pad towards him. Homework _and_ a test! How was he going to learn to fight if he had all this silly homework to accomplish!

--

Starscream held on to his data pad tightly as if it were the most precious thing in the universe to him. He had read and reread the texts nineteen times and had annotated and footnoted every piece of information he decided was necessary for the assignment. Ever since Stealthshadow had started giving them homework, Starscream made it his sole mission to study his hardest and strive for the praise the older mech heaped on him. Granted the flier gave each of the younglings' equal praise, but the red mech reveled in the much sought after approval.

The flier held out his large black hand for the data pads, "All right, femmes. Let's see what you've got."

The trio wouldn't find out how well they had done until Stealthshadow had a chance to look over their assignments, but the older flier was always pleased with their progress. He did rib them at times over their work and progress, which was to be expected from Skywarp's father-creator, the youngling had to have learned it from somewhere, but it was all in jest and even the slightly panicky Thundercracker and the fearful Starscream became used to his type of humor.

"Looks somewhat okay coming from a bunch of femmes like yourselves, but don't get too comfy with thinking you're anything special. I still have to grade them." He stashed the data pads into a subspace pocket for later.

There was the briefest hint of worry on the red mech's face until Skywarp shoved him playfully to remind him that his father-creator was teasing them. And after the first few assignments Thundercracker had eased up on his own nervousness about screwing up his homework. Once he knew what was expected of him, he stopped worrying and began to enjoy his studies. He also started to push his own expectations in his work to new levels. He realized early on from watching Starscream that he wouldn't improve his skills if he only accomplished the basic requirements.

As for Stealthshadow, he was proud of his charges and considered them as his own sparklings, often bragging about them to the other mechs that came by the recreation center to work out. He pushed them in both their studies and in their training exercises, and was never disappointed by their work and ability to achieve new heights even with his growing expectations.

"Hope you got a lot of recharge last night, femmes, because today I'm going to put your sorry afts through the wringer. All three of you will be crying by the end of the day. So up off your tailpipes and follow me." Without even waiting for the trio to get up, the flier strode out of their little padded training room and into the main area of the Guardian Flier's recreation center where he gave a notoriously triumphant smirk to the mech at one end of a sparkling-sized obstacle course.

"This," Stealthshadow spread his massive black and silver arms wide as the younglings moved to stand beside him. "Is your new playground, femmes. When you sparklings can get through this course in under three kliks is when I take you to get your first upgraded protoforms. And I'm not talking about training wheels here, femmes. I'm talking about your first set of _wings_."

Three completely shocked gasps filled his audios and Stealthshadow could feel the floor beneath his feet thrum with the excitement that filled the younglings. He grinned to himself knowing that it would take some time for the trio to complete the training course in three kliks, but he also knew that they would stop at nothing to get their wings. Working the sparklings through the physical challenges during most of the day and then giving them more and more homework to be completed at night would ensure that they'd be in top form for when they entered the University; and would also guarantee that they would out shine and out perform every other mech and femme there.

He glanced down at his rapt charges and felt an enormous amount of love and pride swell in his spark. They were something special. They were going to be something special when they grew up. It was a something that Stealthshadow couldn't put his finger on the exact reason, but he could _feel_ it deep down inside of his soul. Primus had these three earmarked for a reason that even the old war hero couldn't fathom. Call it destiny if you will, but Skywarp, Starscream and Thundercracker would be the best Cybertron had seen in eons.

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Let me know, please!

* * *


	9. Study Hard Train Harder

**A/N:** _I never thought I would have to deal with this happening, but even my stories aren't immune to the 'borrowing' of ideas. I have given permission to use my stories and characters to specific people. If you haven't received my written consent to use them, please, do not steal my ideas or stories and pass them off as your own._

_Either have the sense to ask to use them or don't post your story._

**Disclaimer: **Takara, Hasbro et al. own Tranformers, not me. The characters Stealthshadow and Nebula are mine alone. Wraith and Wraith technology are of my creation. The tale of the Seeker's in early Cybertronian history is also mine.

I only make a handful of readers smile with my strange tales and that is reward enough for me.

Synopsis: This chapter is very dark and delves into the deep recesses of Starscream's life. There is some cute Seeker bits and Skywarp pitches a fit. We also get a glimpse of the plotting behaviors that are blooming between the three. Stellar cycles 400 solar cycles, solar cycle one day, joor one hour, klik 1.2 minutes, vorn 82 years. _Note: Primacron is one of Cybertron's moons and was given it's most awesome name by Fire From Above! Much love for your creative mind!  
_

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed, reviews are given much love.

**Chapter 9** – Study Hard. Train Harder

"I can't do this anymore." Thundercracker slumped down on the floor mats with a soft thud. "My arms are going to rip out of their sockets if I have to cross those rings one more time."

"I can't even feel my arms." Skywarp flopped belly first on the floor next to his best friend.

"I cannnnn…." Starscream slipped down Thundercracker's back and passed out cold on top of Skywarp with the blue youngling joining him seconds later in the exhausted pile.

"Up and at 'em, femmes!" Their flier taskmaster clapped his hands loudly as he stood over them. "Get up! This is not nap time!"

The only reaction out of the youngling pile was a soft snore from Skywarp as he curled up around the other two.

Stealthshadow snickered and shook his head at the sleeping mechs. They had been training hard for the last two stellar cycles, both physically and mentally. He had increased their homework along with their training sessions: three joors in the morning for warm-up exercises, followed by another joor of hand-to-hand combat, followed by working on the obstacle course and finally ending with new assignments and reading to be accomplished for the next day. For every five solar cycles the trio received two solar cycles to rest and play, they were still younglings after all and they needed the down time, but the flier didn't allow them to slack off at all when they came back from their mini-breaks.

He sat down next to the sparkling pile-up and rubbed his sore knee joint. The younglings were also putting him through the paces. He wasn't that old of a mech, but he'd seen enough in his day to warrant him time to age gracefully while sitting in a bar drinking high-grade and reminiscing about the war with old friends.

Stealthshadow thought about his own training back when he was a youngling like Skywarp and the others and what his creator had instilled in him: _every era needs warriors to defend against invasions and uprisings_. He hoped that they never saw war or ever set foot on a battleground, yet they needed to be prepared.

_Too young_, he said to himself. _Too young to be training like this_, but Cybertron wasn't given much warning when the Scintillians attacked, and quite frankly, they weren't prepared for the fight. The city governments had grown soft and decadent being more concerned about fat paychecks and positions in society than protecting the planet and its people. If it hadn't been for the deep traditions of the Guardian Fliers and the Wraith, the war might have ended badly. Even now, after the war had ended, the governments were still more concerned with luxuries for themselves than taking care of its own people. If life on the planet continued this way there would be trouble. And he could feel it brewing on the horizon.

He patted the exhausted Thundercracker on the shoulder and the mech snuggled up closer to his snoozing friends. They were the new generation for Cybertron. They would inherit the planet and all its problems, all its goals and dreams and desires for peace.

He watched them silently as they slept; soon he would need to live up to his promises to get them their first set of wings. They had attacked everything he had thrown at them with such ferocity. They buckled down and worked through all of his exercises with few complaints and they ate up their studies as if their very lives depended on what each text held. He was impressed; even his sparkling had started to strive in his studies. Obviously, the youngling wanted to keep pace with his friends as his study skills improved.

All because they want their wings.

Stealthshadow stood up stiffly and looked at his 'students'. They were a handful when awake, but he had to admit they were quite cute while asleep. He smiled mischievously and took a few stills of them to show Nebula and to embarrass them when they got older.

Nothing like blackmailing your sparklings with cute and embarrassing holopictures.

--

"You left them asleep at the recreation center?" Nebula's optics were drawn from the adorable stills of the three sleeping mechs.

"It's just for a little bit." Stealthshadow winked at her. "Anyways. It's about time we discussed getting them their wings."

A sad smile crossed her faceplate. "It seems only yesterday that I brought Thundercracker home from the clinic."

"You should see him at the recreation center, you would be so proud of him. Slag! I'm proud of him! He's got to be the most agile mech I've seen in vorns. The Guardian Fliers will run to the Pit and back just to get him to join their ranks." He smiled brightly at Nebula, "So, are you ready to put them in the air?"

She sighed and looked at the silent door on the opposite side of the street. "Before you get carried away, Stealth, we need to discuss Starscream. We can't just take him to get his wings without his creator's permission."

The black and silver flier stood to one side of the steps and elegantly motioned for her to descend and take his arm. "Then let's pay a visit to his creator."

Nebula waved him off and headed across the street. "Though I highly doubt his father-creator would consider anything beneficial for Starscream, I think his mother-creator wouldn't have a problem with getting him his wings."

"Which do you think we'll get the pleasure of meeting?"

The dark blue femme walked up the steps and paused at the door. "I've never spoken to his mother-creator, so let's hope she answers the door."

Stealthshadow nodded silently, but the scowl on his face telegraphed his feelings about the situation. He had seen the marks on the youngling and knew the day after things had happened just by Starscream's actions and attitude. He wanted to throttle the mech responsible, but Nebula said they couldn't until they had proof to take to the authorities. She had contacted numerous counselor services; two groups that helped protect younglings and even the Precinct Warden about what was going on, but all of them said that without viable proof there was nothing they could do. And gently probing the youngling about it only made him tuck in on himself.

He glanced at Nebula before knocking at the door. Just let that mech say something to him. He'd show him to pick on someone his own size.

The door opened a crack and a soft voice answered. "Can I help you?"

Stealthshadow tried to peek inside the door until Nebula sent an elbow into his gut. "Hello. I'm Nebula, I'm Thundercracker's creator and this is Stealthshadow, he's Skywarp's creator. Our younglings are good friends of Starscream."

"Yes. I've seen them playing."

Stealthshadow moved to see the voice and address the femme optic to optic. "I've been teaching the younglings about Cybertron's history and technology and to get them prepared for their first upgraded protoforms and-"

"Starscream doesn't need an upgraded protoform." The quiet femme started to close the door but the larger flier quickly shoved his foot into the doorway.

Stealthshadow peered down at the much smaller silver and red femme who stared at the ground. "I don't mean to be rude, but I think you should know that he wants to be a flier. He's been training exceptionally hard for this and we would like to see him get his wings."

She didn't look up, "He's going to be a scientist."

Nebula smiled warmly at the silver and red femme, "We know. We also know that the Science Academy is in desperate need for fliers for both on planet and interplanetary research projects.

"I don't have the money for an upgrade for him. Now please, I have to go."

"Wait!" Stealthshadow didn't let go of the door. "Credits aren't a problem, so you don't need to worry about that."

Sad purple optics finally looked up at the two visitors. "You don't understand. It would be safer for Starscream if he stayed how he is now."

Thinking she had an opening, Nebula softly asked the femme why.

The femme's optics dropped to the ground, "I think you know why…"

"Then let us help you." There was veiled anger in Stealthshadow's voice and Nebula shot him a pointed glare.

She shook her head silently.

"Starscream will be able to apply to the Academy in the next stellar cycle. He needs to get used to a new protoform before he enters classes," Nebula tried to reason with her. "And he'll be crushed when his friends get their wings and he doesn't. Please let us do this for him. He deserves this."

The silver and red femme was silent a few moments before she nodded her head. "He does deserve it. He deserves a lot of things that I can't give to him."

"Does that mean we have your permission to get him his upgraded protoform?" Stealthshadow's buoyant voice made the femme flinch.

She nodded again. "Yes."

Nebula smiled at her in hopes the excitement of seeing her sparkling happy would cheer her up, "I'll make appointments for them later this week. We can set up another sleepover and take them in the following morning for the procedure."

The femme suddenly grabbed Nebula's arm and stared into her face, "Please. If anything goes wrong, please take care of him."

The blue femme put her comforting hand over the other femme's. "These procedures are done all the time. There is nothing to worry about."

"No. I mean…" She glanced up at Stealthshadow fearfully. "Just please take care of him."

Nebula gripped the femme's hand tightly, suddenly understanding what she was being asked to do. "We will. Don't worry."

--

"ARRRGG! I don't understand any of this!" Skywarp tossed his data pad down the steps in pure frustration. "Why the slag do we need to learn about hardwiring communication systems?! We have _comlinks_! And comlinks that can't be hacked into at that!"

Starscream sighed and picked up the fallen data pad. "It's in case we're on the battlefield and our com-systems are damaged."

"Hello? We're going to be _fliers_. Our battlefield will be the skies."

"What if we get shot down, 'Warp?" Thundercracker didn't even look up from his work, his stylus highlighting the text as he read. "We have to be able to communicate to each other if one of us gets downed."

Skywarp snorted, "Get shot down?! Shot down? Us?! Slag! Do either of you _listen_ to yourselves? We are going to be the best fliers in Cybertron. _We won't get shot down_! Ever!"

"When you fail this section for being a glitch, don't come crying to us about it." Starscream scowled at him and went back to work.

"Ahh! This is pointless!" The black mech leaned back on the stoop and stared at the sky and the flier patrols in training as they swept just below the clouds. He put an arm behind his head and watched as they frolicked and rolled, dipped and spun, and he was soon mesmerized by their graceful aerial performance. He lifted his finger in the air and began tracing their aerial dance. He wasn't sure what most of the maneuvers were called - TC probably did and could tell him every detail about their aerial concert. He readily understood why his friend loved to watch them for joors on end and wanted to be up there flying alongside them. The urge to play amid the clouds filled his spark; he couldn't wait until they were able to get their wings.

The fliers paired up and began weaving in and back across the sky. "Hey, TC?"

Thundercracker didn't look up from his homework, "What?"

"What are they doing?"

The blue youngling glanced over at his friend and noticed his finger in the air following the fliers. He looked up into the sky. Each pair of fliers were flying belly to belly, spinning slowly on a horizontal axis as they weaved in and out with the opposite pair in a perfect s-shape. Thundercracker grinned, "That's a mated fluid defense. You need to have a lot of trust in the skills of your wingmate to pull that off. Basically, you and your wingmate have to fly extremely close to each other and synchronize a steady roll so that it will cut down on your exposure to enemy fire while increasing your range of fire. It destroys your enemy's defensive position and forces them to pull out of your line of fire and into the second pair's firing range." He drew in the air with his fingers to demonstrate. "If you and your wingmate are really good, you can pull off the maneuver without the second pair. When your enemy pulls off, you just split and chase them down."

"You think we can do that?" Skywarp turned to look at him.

Thundercracker pondered the question before grinning. "I think I can trust you to fly that close to me."

"I meant all three of us."

The blue mech shot Skywarp an incredulous look. "No. It's only done in pairs."

The black mech stared up into the skies. "I bet we could. Like instead of just splitting into two directions," he motioned with his hands. "We could split into three. Then you wouldn't need to wait and see what direction your enemy takes, one of us would already be there to shoot him down."

Thundercracker didn't answer him, and after a few moments of complete silence Skywarp stopped watching the fliers and glanced over at his friend.

Both Starscream and Thundercracker were staring at him.

"What? It's not that bad of an idea."

The other two mechs looked at each other. "Who are you and what did you do with Skywarp?"

"Huh?" Optic ridges rose in confusion until he caught the joke and sneered. "Oh very funny."

Starscream tapped his stylus on the edge of his data pad as he glanced up at the fliers, "Actually, that's a plausible move for three agile fliers. And why would you need to break off? Why can't you continue pursuit?"

"Because it would be impossible to make a tight turn when you're that close to your wingmate without colliding."

"I bet we could do it." Skywarp's optics glittered. "Since we're going to be the best fliers Cybertron's ever seen, we'll be able to do it easily."

"TC? Do you still have that data pad with the diagrams of the Guardian Flier's maneuvers?" Starscream looked at Thundercracker expectantly.

Thundercracker stared at his friend. "Is the Pit dark? Of course I still have it!"

"Go get it. Let's see if we can modify some of their partnered maneuvers for a triad." There was a glint in Starscream's optics that Thundercracker didn't like.

"What about our homework?" The blue youngling glanced between his plotting friends.

"This won't take long, TC," Starscream pulled out a blank data pad. "Or don't you want to be one of the best fliers like 'Warp and I?"

The black youngling's faceplate lit up. "Yeah, TC! Don't you want to be one of the elite like us?"

The blue youngling looked at Starscream in shock, "You're wanting to put aside _your homework_ to plot out aerial maneuvers for a triad?"

The red youngling looked up at his friend curiously. "Yes. Why?"

"Oh, Primus." Thundercracker put his head in his hands. "I must be having some weird dream where 'Warp's mind has taken over the planet."

Starscream smacked the blue youngling in the arm. "Just go get the data pad."

--

"Five kliks," Stealthshadow shook his head as Thundercracker ran up to him panting. "Close, but not close enough. You're up, Skywarp."

The black youngling attacked the obstacle course as if his very life depended on it. They had worked so hard over the past two stellar cycles. Eight hundred and fifty-two solar cycles, to be exact.

Skywarp growled and threw himself to the ground, crawling through the ever changing, twisting maze that was to represent a minefield. He was going to make it through the course in three kliks this time. Frag, he was going to do it in _two kliks_! He pushed himself onward as he exited the mine-maze. _Two kliks_, he promised himself. Two kliks and he'd get his wings. He leapt onto the sixty-foot wall they had to climb and he scaled it quickly, barely touching the tiny handholds that ran up the face of the wall.

_Two kliks!_ The swinging rings were next. He had memorized the pendulums' sway and could cross them in his sleep if necessary. Skywarp jumped and somersaulted his way through the course without stopping; the momentum of one foot touching the floor sent him through the next jump. He spun in the air as he finished his assault on the pendulums and was off and running towards the next obstacle.

_Two kliks!_ The ropes were next. He scaled the almost slippery pole up to the very ceiling of the recreation center where the dangerously thin ropes were hung. He didn't bother making sure he had good footing on the first rope as he stepped out and began running across it - he wasn't going to fall. He lunged for the next rope, grabbing at the dangling ring as his feet left the precarious safety of the first. One ring after the next, Skywarp was nearly air born as he crossed the gently wiggling rope rings. After dropping from the final ring, he snarled in a feral-like manner as he somersaulted in the air, landing on his hands and springing away from the course in a mad dash towards his evil taskmaster.

_Two kliks!_ He knew he made it in two kliks!

The timer was stopped as Skywarp skidded into his father-creator with a triumphant look upon his faceplate.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. For a moment I thought you had Thundercracker beat, femme."

"WHAT?!" Skywarp's optics nearly popped out of his face. "What do you mean? I know I made it!"

"Nice thought to have in whatever dream world you're living in, femme. Five point two kliks." Stealthshadow patted him on the head in the most patronizing manner. "You're up, Starscream."

"NO! I know I made it in under two kliks! You're not reading to clock right, or, or, or you're _cheating_ because you don't want to give us our wings!" Skywarp spluttered out loud enough to garner the attention of everyone else in the recreation center.

Green optics narrowed at the enraged youngling. "Cheating?"

A finger was pointed up at the much larger flier in accusation. "Yeah! You're cheating!"

Skywarp found himself flat on his back and halfway across the obstacle course. His father-creator stormed over to where he was laying and blinking up at the ceiling. He was hauled to his feet roughly and shaken like he was a sparkling's blanket. "You think I'm cheating so you won't get your wings? How about I permanently make certain that you won't get your wings?!"

Getting his bearing, Skywarp shrugged himself free of his creator's grasp and pointed at him again. "Then you do it. You run the slagging course in three kliks and show us how it's done. I'll even let 'Screamer time you so you know I won't be cheating!"

There was a low and energon-freezing chuckle from the flier. "Alright. I'll show you how it's done. But when I complete it in time, your time drops from three kliks to the two kliks you swear you did the course in."

"Fine." Skywarp stomped over to Starscream. "Time him as he makes a fool of himself."

Stealthshadow stretched out his wings. He was slightly amused at being called out by his sparkling, but getting the attention of everyone in the building rankled him. He gave the briefest thought to embarrassing Skywarp by turning him over his knee, but showing the trio just how to run the course in the allotted time would be a better lesson.

He walked over to the controls for the course and altered it to allow his much bigger frame.

"And no flying to get through the course, either!" Maybe he would still turn the brat over his knee.

"No flying. Got it." Stealthshadow walked over to the stunned mech at the entrance desk with an evil grin. "Can you help me with these, Flare?"

The mech blinked in disbelief as the black and silver flier turned around and pointed to his wing joints. "Are you insane?"

"Pain sensors are off and I've all ready released the main connectors."

"Stealth, this is not a good idea, even if it is just to show up your sparkling. You'll be sore for days and what if you cause a leak?"

Stealthshadow glared at the mech over his shoulder. "Just help me take them off."

The center was deathly quiet as the black and silver wings were carefully removed from the warrior's back. He grunted and shrugged his shoulders; it had been awhile since he needed to take them off and was a little off-balanced without them. With a cold purpose, Stealthshadow stalked past the two frightened younglings and his defiant brat towards the start of the course. "Are you ready, Starscream?"

The nervous red youngling nodded. "On my mark."

He didn't wait for Starscream to say go.

The mechs and femmes in the building formed a semi-circle around the younglings and were cheering the older flier on as he jumped, swept and leaped through the course.

Thundercracker's optics shifted uneasily between Stealthshadow and Skywarp; he didn't want to waste another stellar cycle's worth of running the course just because of Skywarp's outburst.

Stealthshadow did a final handspring as he ended the course and jogged over to the younglings. He wasn't even panting. "How did I do, Starscream?"

Wide purple optics looked up at the flier in deep respect. "One point nine kliks."

The small crowd applauded the older mech as he smirked triumphantly at the sour Skywarp. "One point nine sounds like a good end mark for you, femme. When you can beat that, then I'll _think_ about getting you your wings."

Starscream and Thundercracker shared a defeated look before turning to glare at Skywarp.

The blue youngling wanted to hit him. He had worked so hard trying to get through the course; he even practiced his somersaults and handsprings before he left his house in the morning and right after dinner in the evening. "Good going, slagger. Now we're never going to get our wings."

Stealthshadow chuckled as the other mech helped him reattach his wings. "Your times haven't changed, TC. Only Skywarp has to beat the one point nine mark."

The black mech's optics widened, "That's not fair!"

"Maybe you'll think before you call someone out just because you don't get your way." The black and silver flier flexed his wings and thanked the mech you had helped him.

"Now I believe it is Starscream's turn on the course." He turned to the red mech with a grin. "Ready?"

--

It was her scream that woke him from his recharge.

"No! Please…" There was a loud crash and the dull thwack of something hitting the wall.

Starscream balled his fists and glared at the ceiling. _"Just keep studying as hard as you can and we'll get out of here."_ No. She would never survive his wrath until it was time for him to enter the Academy. He had to do something now. He needed to put Stealthshadow's training to use.

Another crash and a whimper echoed in the house as the red youngling bolted out of his berth and down the stairs, taking three of them at a time to get to her and stop tonight's beating. He dashed into the kitchen where she was curled up in one corner; one damaged hand up trying to fend off his blows, her bloodied face turned away. The gray mech had a chair raised above his head about to slam it down on her battered frame when Starscream slid in front of her and blocked the hit. The youngling had his arms crossed and raised in the defensive position, the fluid movement automatic since his training with Stealthshadow.

He locked optics with his father-creator: furious red optics, enraged and boring holes through the steady purple optics of the youngling. "Leave her alone."

"Why you little worm -"

"Leave her alone!"

He felt her energon-stained hand on his arm, "Please, Starscream. Don't-"

Starscream didn't back down. He didn't break optic contact with the infuriated mech. "No." The normally screechy tone of his voice was gone and replaced by an icy cold timbre. "He's not going to do this to you anymore. I won't let him."

His mother-creator's voice was soft, but trembling in utter fear. "Starscream… Please. I'll be okay. Just-"

The incensed mech tried to lift the chair to strike at the youngling, but Starscream had grabbed on, and with the addition of his growing weight had made the chair unwieldy. His father-creator pulled and yanked at the chair in an attempt to dislodge him, but Starscream held fast.

He was doing it. He was standing up to him.

Starscream couldn't help but smile; he would make sure his father-creator never beat them again.

The smile of the youngling's faceplate pushed the raging mech over the edge and he shoved the chair back at Starscream, effectively catching him off guard and sending him tumbling to the floor alongside his mother-creator. Stunned at the turn of events, Starscream let go of the chair, which was quickly jerked away from him and brought crashing down on his head. He was sent reeling onto his chest, his optics flickering from the blow. He could hear her scream in agony and fear as the chair was brought down on his back and head again, and again, and again.

She sounded so far away as she pleaded with the angry mech, and Starscream could vaguely feel her hands trying to fend off the blows that were raining down on him. He tried to sit up only to be knocked to the floor again.

"Beg."

Pain and consciousness flittered through him as he felt the crushing kick to his side. "I said beg, you worthless piece of slag! BEG!"

Another kick sent him sprawling across the floor and onto his back. Starscream lifted one arm to shield his optics from the glaring kitchen light and was rewarded with another kick.** "I SAID BEG OR I'LL KILL HER!"**

Starscream's head lolled to one side and he caught sight of the petrified form of his mother-creator on her knees and crying. He had her by the head and from the strain Starscream saw in the cables of her neck, he was microns away from snapping it off her shoulders.

"**BEG!"** He shouted at him again as a sickening gurgle escaped his mother-creator's vocalizer.

He had to stay conscious and fight off the darkness that threatened to drag him into its deep undercurrents. "…don't hurt her…"

His father-creator mockingly put one hand to his audios, "I didn't hear you! Did you say something, you rotten pit-spawn?!"

"Please. Don't hurt her…" Starscream winced as he rolled over onto his stomach. "Please."

Obviously enjoying this perverse pleasure, the mech put his foot in between Starscream's shoulder blades and forced him to the ground. "Get on your knees and beg for her life!"

He bit back the yelp of pain from the blow and steeled his jaw. "Please. I beg you, don't hurt her."

"Louder!"

"I beg you! Don't hurt her anymore!"

"I can't hear you, worm!"

"PLEASE! I BEG YOU! PLEASE STOP HURTING HER!" Starscream shouted into the floorboards.

His father-creator's foot connected with his head and sent him skidding across the floor. He could barely make out his mother-creator's panicked screech for him or the disgusting thumps as she was dragged up the stairs.

The kitchen light swam in his vision. He needed to get up, but gravity was keeping him stuck to the floor. Or was that the strange glue that was keeping him in place? Starscream lifted one hand up and tried to focus on it. It was coated with something warm and sticky. It was… purple. Yes, it was definitely purple. And it was something he should be worried about, but exactly what it was or why he should be worried escaped him. His optics flickered and his hand felt much heavier. He looked back at the light above and watched it swing back and forth, in and out of focus. It was relaxing. Hypnotizing. Maybe he needed to recharge. That sounded good. A little recharge and he could tackle the problems of why gravity has stopped working and what all the purple goo was. His optics shuttered. Just a little recharge…

--

"Starscream?"

The voice that called his name sounded so far away.

"Starscream, please wake up."

The darkness that surrounded him swirled into a graying light and he groaned.

Arms were wrapped tightly around him and he could hear the voice sobbing. "Oh, Primus, Starscream. I thought he killed you."

"Wha?" His optics flickered online as he slowly regained consciousness. "What- what happened?"

She carefully turned him around, cupping his face in her hands and pressing her lips on his forehead. "What made you do such a crazy thing, Starscream?" She pulled away to look into his optics and he winced when he saw how battered her faceplate was.

He reached up to touch her cheek, his optics watering and his lips quivering when he saw how damaged she was.

She grabbed his hand and kissed his palm. "Why, Starscream?"

He dropped his head in shame. He had meant to save her, not subject her to a worse beating. His vocal processor hitched in a sob as the tears slipped down his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I don't want him to hurt you anymore… I'm sorry."

His mother-creator pulled him close and rocked him in her arms. "Hush. We don't want to wake him up."

He looked up at her with his tear and energon stained face and grabbed her hand. "Then lets leave. Right now. We can go and get away from him right now. I even know where we can go! Thundercracker's mother-creator will help-"

She shook her head violently, "I can't leave, Starscream. He'll follow me."

"But she stood up to him. She could protect you! Or we could go to Skywarp's-"

"No." She gave a terrified glance to the stairs, "He'll find me, Starscream."

Starscream stood up unsteadily and tugged at her hand, "Not if we go into hiding! Lets go right now!"

She pulled him into a crushing hug and sobbed into his shoulder "You don't understand. We could run to Primacron, and he would still find me. His spark would be able to sense mine no matter where I went."

He held onto her tightly as her despair overwhelmed him, "How am I supposed to save you?"

She knew the answer to that question, but she wasn't going to tell her beloved sparkling the answer. "We'll find a way, Starscream. We'll find a way."

--

A/N: Like it? Hate it? Leave a review, please.


	10. Downward Spiral

**A/N:** _This ended up being a very long chapter, so I split it into two! Expect chapter 11 shortly!_

Synopsis: As an adult, Thundercracker is plagued by doubts. His constantly running internal dialogue about right and wrong started early in in life, and the words of his mother-creator haunt him: _You have a good spark and I know that you will follow the right path and find the right answers as long as you let your conscience guide you._ It only takes one instance to destroy the confidence in yourself that you are doing the right thing.

Oh. And Skywarp is a brat.

**Disclaimer:** Takara, hasbro et al. own Transformers. I only make a handful of readers smile and that is reward enough for me. The characters Stealthshadow and Nebula are mine alone. Wraith and Wraith technology are also mine as is the tale of the Seekers in early Cybertronian history.

_Notes: Primacron is the name of one of Cybertron's two moons and was given its most awesome name by Fire From Above. Much love for your creative mind! SR-71 is the name of a real stealth reconnaissance aircraft, obviously NOT a Cybertronian design. RCS stands for radar cross section - a unit of measure of how detectable an object is with radar._

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed. Stealing is not.

**Chapter 10** – Downward Spiral

Thundercracker was up early again practicing his defensive stances. He moved fluidly through each of the blocking techniques Stealthshadow had taught them with a resolute gracefulness that few mechs would ever accomplish in their lifetime. His concentration was fixed solely on his body as one position flowed into the next with ease. It took an enormous amount of control to rein in his daydreams about flying, but he forced his desires into a corner of his mind. He needed to focus on the work that would _earn_ him his wings, because the longer it took for him to perfect his postures and endurance, the longer it would be until he could get those coveted wings.

A sudden commotion outside broke his concentration and Thundercracker muttered a few of Skywarp's favorite curses as he walked over to the window. He peered out at the street below, but saw nothing out of the ordinary with the early morning traffic moving along at its usual pace. The blue youngling shrugged and turned away, intent on completing the series of stances he was in the middle of before he was interrupted.

_"You're lucky I don't slagging extinguish your worthless spark, Starscream!"_

Thundercracker's faceplate was pressed against the window in an instant as the large mech roughly tossed his best friend down the front steps. Starscream scrambled across the sidewalk trying to get away from the much larger mech who stomped down the stoop and shook his fist at the youngling.

Some of the morning traffic glanced at the scene before looking the other way. Some stepped around the pair as if they were an uneven patch on the street. Most didn't acknowledge them at all.

The blue youngling watched as the mech stormed off, disappearing in the crowds before he tried their comlink, "'Screamer are you okay?"

There was no answer.

Thundercracker bolted down the stairs and nearly plowed into his mother-creator as she opened the door. One look from her was all he needed to know that she had seen what had happened as well. He glanced across the street and saw Starscream on his knees and trying to stand. Without a second thought, he sprinted out the door, dodging and pushing his way though the ocean of mechs over to where his fallen friend was. He vaguely heard his mother-creator call after him.

"'Screamer!" The blue youngling slid to a stop next to his friend and tried to pull him to his feet.

The red youngling shook off his friend's help and looked away when Thundercracker's optics widened in shock. "Primus, 'Screamer..."

Nebula was instantly at their side and gently ushered the younglings to the open door of her house. "Let's get you inside and cleaned up."

Starscream tried to shrug them off with muttered excuses as he swayed on his feet. "It's nothing. I'm okay."

She helped steady the youngling. "You're not okay."

Thundercracker wrapped his arm around Starscream's body and helped him limp across the street. He didn't say anything to his friend, keeping his optics either on the ground or on the door as he focused solely on getting him to safety. Things were now slipping into place as the blue youngling realized why Starscream often turned off the com system: The yelling in the background over the comlink, the times when he would freak out about playing near his house, the anger he showed during their training sessions, the obsessed need to study...

Nebula shut the front door and led them to the kitchen where she went to work gathering things from numerous cabinets. "Will you get breakfast ready, Thundercracker?"

The blue youngling eased Starscream into the nearest chair, then silently retrieved three energon cubes and placed them on the heating coils.

He should have said something. He should have told his mother-creator before this happened. He would have stopped this from happening to his best friend. Guilt wracked his young spark as he stared at the coils under the cubes while they turned orange. He should have listened to his conscience and spoken up about the shouting. He put his shaking hands on the edges of the heating apparatus and hung his head as he remembered what his mother-creator had told him:

_He looked at her retreating back as she turned off the lights. "What if-"_

_His worried voice prompted her to flick the lights back on, "What if?"_

_He pursed his lips trying to put his thoughts into words; he knew something wasn't right because his mother-creator never yelled at him. He never saw Stealthshadow yell at Skywarp like that either. Starscream could be a pain in the aft sometimes, but why would his creator yell at him? Or curse at him or call him names? That wasn't right, but if Starscream had gotten in trouble then he didn't want to get his best friend in more trouble. _

_He didn't know what to do. "What if you think something is wrong… but you're not really sure if it is…wrong. What do you do?"_

_His mother-creator walked back over to him and sat down on his berth, "Well, I would tell someone I trusted about it."_

_Maybe he should tell her about the yelling. She would know what to do. She always told him to let his conscience be his guide…_

"_Is there something wrong, dear-spark?"_

_He was conflicted inside and he didn't like this feeling at all. He should tell her. He knew he should. So why was it so hard to say it? What if he was wrong. "I'm not sure…"_

"_You know that if you ever need to talk to someone you can come to me." She caressed his face lovingly, "You have a good spark, Thundercracker. I know that you will follow the right path and find the right answers as long as you let your conscience guide you."_

_He looked at the floor, unadulterated confusion running through his body. Maybe it was bad, but what if it wasn't as bad as he thought it was…_

_She placed a kiss on his forehead, "If it still bothers you tomorrow we can talk about it, okay? Try to get some recharge."_

_The light went out and he stared at the ceiling with his doubts running amok. Should he or shouldn't he tell her? What if Starscream was in trouble? What if he would get Starscream in more trouble if he told her? What should he do? Should he do anything now, or should he wait and see if the yelling happened again? _

"YOU ROTTEN GLITCH! WHAT THE FRAK ARE YOU DOING?! GET YOUR SLAGGIN' AFT DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

_He put his hands over his audios and whimpered as the yelling replayed in his mind._

_What should he do?_

He let this happen to his best friend because he didn't tell anyone. Thundercracker couldn't lift his head to face his friend. His conscience tried to convince him to tell his mother-creator, yet he did nothing. He had turned a blind optic to what was happening right in front of him… just like the people on the street did.

Nebula set an array of things she had pulled from the cupboards on the table. She daubed something from a blue bottle on a white cloth, "This will sting some, but the cuts will be gone in a few joors." She gently wiped some of the dried energon off Starscream's face, dabbing the stringent cleaner on some of the larger welts.

The red youngling hissed and tried to pull away from her.

"The pain will stop in a klik or two."

Thundercracker took the warm energon off the heating coils and brought it over to the table. He carefully filled three cups with the thick liquid and sat down heavily. His spark felt like it weighed a billion tons.

Nebula grabbed one of the steaming cups and pressed it into Starscream's hands. "Neither of you are going to the recreation center until I see you drink at least three cups of energon."

Thundercracker nodded silently and took a sip. He braved a cautious glance over the table at Starscream and their optics met for a moment before the red youngling turned away. The blue youngling dropped his head and stared at the table. He had betrayed their friendship and now Starscream would never forgive him.

The blue femme sadly watched the uncomfortable interaction between the two younglings. "You're spending the night here with us, Starscream."

Starscream's head shot up quickly and he locked his pleading optics with hers, "I can't. I have to protect-"

She knelt down in front of him and gently cupped his face, "I know you do. But sometimes things in life are bigger than what we can handle on our own. I have a friend who will help her and take her to a safe place."

Starscream looked away with a heavy sigh, "... She said he'd find her wherever we go."

"Then we'll take her to a place where he can't go." Nebula tilted her head trying to peer into the youngling's optics. "You're staying with us tonight and tomorrow you're going to a sleep over at Skywarp's."

"But-"

"No buts. Stealthshadow and I have already spoken to your mother-creator about the sleep over."

Thundercracker gave Starscream a guilty look. _Why would he want to spend time with the mech that let this happen? _

Starscream didn't meet her optics, but there was the smallest of smiles on his lips. Two entire nights that he wouldn't need to spend cowering under his bed. And Nebula never lied to him; if she said she would help, then he knew she wouldn't let anything happen to his mother-creator. He lifted his gaze to peek at Thundercracker who seemed to be in pain. "Maybe we can get Skywarp to lubricate himself again."

The blue youngling's face lifted a bit as Starscream spoke to him and he smiled back at his friend. "We could ask Stealthshadow to help us scare him."

Nebula filled their cups with more of the warm energon as the two younglings brightened. She was worried about both of them, but Thundercracker's emotional shut down scared her. She would bet her ailerons that he was frightened; she would need to talk to him later about it. "Less plotting and more drinking. Both of you need the energy before you run off to the recreation center."

Refilling her cup, she sat down at the table and glanced at the two, "So what are you learning about this week?"

"We're working on communications systems and encryption codes." Starscream smirked slightly. "'Warp hates this lesson."

"And Skywarp got in trouble by accusing his father-creator of cheating, so now he has to finish the obstacle course training in one point nine kliks." Thundercracker smiled into his cup.

Nebula chuckled, "And what did Stealthshadow say to that?"

"He took his wings off and ran the course." Starscream glanced over at her, "I didn't know you could do that. Taking your wings off. I've only read about armor and protoform alterations done by medics."

She smiled at the younglings. "Most fighters and fliers from the war were outfitted with heavy-duty armor that can be removed quickly in case of an emergency. A wounded wing that keeps you out of the air is just a hindrance. The ability to discard a badly damaged wing or a limb can keep you from bleeding to death and keep your enemy from tracking you by following an energon leak. Ideally, you want a trained field medic to remove them if you are wounded. But in a pinch you can deaden your pain sensors, seal off the flow of energon and disconnect the joints at their base. Now that the war is over and we do not need the heavy armor, wings like mine are easily removable."

Two sets of wide purple optics looked at her. "You can do that?"

She nodded and smiled inwardly at being able to distract the younglings, "Yes. I remove them from time to time. But during the Scintillian war, when I wore my full exoskeleton armor, I was forced to remove them twice."

"Why?"

She sipped at her breakfast, "The first time, I was shot down while I tried to protect my wounded wingmate. My wing was in shreds and I had a long walk back to where my platoon was so I discarded it. The second time I removed a wing was to carry my Air Commander away from the battle and get him to the company field hospital."

Thundercracker stared at his mother-creator, "You couldn't fly and carry him?"

Nebula set her cup to the side, "He was a much bigger mech than I am. I wouldn't have stayed in the air, so I had to carry him over the ground."

Starscream look up at her, "You saved him by sacrificing your ability to fly?"

The blue femme shook her head sadly, "I was able to get him to the field hospital, but they weren't able to save him. He had been shot in the chest and it cracked his spark chamber. They didn't have the equipment to transfer his spark."

The younglings looked at each other quietly as she stood up and gathered their empty cups, "Time for us to walk over to Skywarp's."

"You're coming with us?" Thundercracker looked at his mother-creator curiously.

"I want to see this obstacle course that Stealthshadow has set up. It's been a while since I went through basic training. But if the course is a real challenge I might give it a try."

--

Skywarp stood at the door with a scowl, arms crossed over his chest and tapping one foot impatiently. He glared at his two friends as they climbed up the stairs, "Why didn't you turn on your comlinks?"

Thundercracker glanced at Starscream before answering, "We forgot because we were having breakfast."

The black youngling pouted, "You two are always doing stuff without me."

They stopped right in front of Skywarp as he blocked the doorway and Starscream stuck his tongue out at him, "It's because we don't like you, 'Warp."

Purple optics widened in hurt disbelief, "Y- you don't like me?"

Thundercracker smacked Skywarp in the arm playfully, "Don't be a glitch-mouse, 'Warp. Of course we like you. You're our-" He winced on the inside as guilt washed over him again and he glanced between the two mechs. "best friend. Remember? 'Friends 'til the bitter end?"

That seemed to appease Skywarp, but it didn't alleviate Thundercracker's guilt. How long would it be until he betrayed his friendship with Skywarp?

Starscream smirked at the black youngling, "You think you can meet your one point nine klik run today?"

Skywarp sniffed in disdain, "Yes. While you two glitchmice were having breakfast, I've been practicing."

"You're going to need a lot more practicing and less attitude before you'll make that mark." Stealthshadow pushed Skywarp away from the door so he could shut it.

"You femmes ready for today-" The black and silver flier stopped mid sentence when he saw Nebula standing there behind the two younglings. He gave her his best smile, "What occasion brings you out this fine morning, Nebula? Were my students misbehaving? Because if they were I could discipline them with more homework and training."

The blue femme laughed at him and put a hand on Thundercracker's and Starscream's shoulders, "Nothing of the sort. We had a lovely breakfast together and they've told me all about your obstacle course. I thought I would come see what you have set up for them."

Stealthshadow winked at her knowingly, "Maybe you could stay for a while and talk about some of the drills and tests the Guardian Fliers use for training."

Skywarp's optics brightened at the thought of hearing, and hopefully learning, some new fighting tactics. "Could you teach us some of the fighting skills they use?"

Nebula smiled at Skywarp, "I could show you a few training drills."

"YES!" Skywarp grabbed his two stunned friends and dragged them down the steps, only to let them go at the bottom of the stoop. "LAST ONE TO THE CENTER IS A DIRTY GLITCH-MOUSE!!"

--

Nebula stood with Stealthshadow and watched the three younglings work their way through a series of warm-up exercises. She covered her words to the mech with a smile, "He was just tossed into the street like he was a bag of refuse."

The black and silver flier watched his students with a critical optic as he dropped his voice low, "And no one will lift a slaggin' finger to help him."

"We can't let this continue. With the way things have been escalating… Stealth, I'm scared. I stand by the window every morning praying to Primus that he makes it through another day."

He nodded grimly, "You contact that friend of yours?"

"Yes," The blue femme waved as Thundercracker glanced worriedly over at her, "She is stopping by this morning to collect her and take her into hiding."

"And Starscream?"

Nebula's optics narrowed. "I'm keeping him. He needs to be in a familiar and safe environment. And if that slagger steps foot on my doorstep, I'll shoot him."

Stealthshadow turned to look at the blue femme in surprise, "You've just offended my delicate audio receptors with your foul language."

She crossed her arms over her chest and snorted lightly, "I highly doubt that a high-ranking officer of the Wraith would be offended by anything."

He smirked, "True. But you can't shoot the slagger. Firearm usage within city limits is prohibited."

Nebula looked at the black and silver flier, "I'm well aware of that, but tazer-darts are perfectly legal."

He turned to watch the younglings again, "I was hoping that you'd kick his aft to Primacron. Nothing like watching a femme fight. Especially if it's with another femme and they're covered in oil."

She sent a sharp elbow into the mech's side. "You want a fight? I'll give you a fight. I challenge you in a run through your obstacle course."

"Can't say no to such an offer." He clapped his hands together loudly to get the attention of the three younglings, "Take a seat, femmes. Nebula thinks she can beat my record on the course, so I want you to watch and learn that it's a bad idea to challenge me."

Nebula shook her head in annoyance at the braggart mech's comment. Her optics went out of focus and she stood stock-still; they brightened in less than a nano-klik later and she reached under her left arm, disengaging the lower clasps and servos to her wing, and then the upper servos.

Stealthshadow moved to assist her with a mischievous grin, "Here, let me help you."

She brushed him off as she set her sleek blue wing on the floor, "A real warrior doesn't need help in something as simple as removing their wings."

Three sets of purple optics widened at Nebula's cutting remark; Skywarp barely stifled a wicked giggle.

Nebula removed her other wing and set it carefully next to the other. Then the graceful blue femme stood up, rolling her shoulders and stretching out her long and elegant limbs. She quickly garnered the attention of everyone in the center and stepped up to the starting point of the course. "Do I get to pick who will mark my time?"

"Me! Me! Me!" Skywarp hopped up and down excitedly. Not only did he want her to win, but also show up his father-creator.

"I don't think so, sparkling." Stealthshadow flicked the back of Skywarp's head and handed the timer to Starscream, "You're the impartial one of the group. But I'll be watching just to ensure that you don't fudge the timing."

Starscream nodded quickly, a bright smile playing over his previously quiet features. He held the timer up and looked at Nebula. "On my mark?"

The sleek blue femme knelt at the starting position, her shining optics focused on the first part of the course. "Ready."

The younglings were in awe as the graceful femme sailed through the course, her body effortlessly twisting and spinning with ease. Stealthshadow's jaw dropped as she strode up to the four mechs.

Nebula smiled the group, "What was my time?"

Starscream beamed, "One point four kliks!"

She gave a pointed look to the black and silver flier as she sat down with the younglings. "Not my best time. I must be getting old."

Skywarp whooped loudly as he turned to face his father-creator, waggling his finger at the much larger mech. "You got owned by a femme!"

Stealthshadow grumbled as he smacked the youngling in irritation. "Enough out of you. Now it's my turn."

The bigger mech had difficulty removing his large and angled wings by himself, and finally allowed Nebula to help him. He stretched out his bad knee and perched at the starting point. "Just say when, 'Screamer."

The black and silver flier launched himself at the course for the second day in a row. Nebula may be a good-looking, but he'd be slagged if he let any femme show him up. When he skidded to a stop in front of the group he smirked triumphantly at the blue femme, "What's my time?"

Starscream nervously glanced between the two adults as he squeaked an answer that was too high pitched for even a turbo dog to hear.

"What is it, 'Screamer?"

The red mech was able to lower his voice slightly, "One point eight kliks."

Skywarp did a victory dance and chanted very loudly, "You got owned by a femme! You got owned by a femme!"

Nebula rose to her feet and lazily picked up one of her wings, "Don't worry, Stealth. If you keep practicing hard, you'll get better."

Thundercracker and Starscream shared a look before busting up with sparkling-like giggles as Nebula teased Stealthshadow while Skywarp continued his victory dance around the room chanting inanely.

Training was canceled for the rest of the day.

--

"But if we simultaneously force the pitch to 270 degrees, we could effectively increase the area of attack to- "

Nebula ducked her head into Thundercracker's room, "It's time to get ready for recharge you two."

Thundercracker and Starscream were lying on the floor focused on a bunch of scattered data pads and conversing rapidly with Skywarp over their shared comlink. The blue youngling glanced quickly up at his mother-creator, "Just one more breem? We're almost done modifying the Cobalt Cobra."

Curious as to what the youngling meant, she walked over to them and peered over Starscream's shoulder. "Modifying the maneuver how?"

Starscream's optics sparkled brightly as he looked up at her, "For a triad in any battle situation." He held up the data pad that he had been writing on, "We've converted fifteen conventional Guardian Flier battle tactics. I was surprised that no one had altered them before."

Nebula glanced over the formulas the younglings had used to modify the maneuvers. They were highly detailed and creative and they might actually work in perfect conditions. "I'm impressed. I have a feeling that you two will put your instructors in fits when you suggest some of these ideas."

"Skywarp helped, too."

"Yeah. All three of us worked on these."

She handed the data pad back to Starscream, "And you can continue working on them tomorrow. It's time for you to recharge. And tell Skywarp he needs to recharge as well."

Starscream took the data pad back as Thundercracker wheedled for more time, "Just one more breem? Please? We'll go straight to recharge right after, we promise."

"You have a long day tomorrow and you'll need to have a decent recharge before going over to Skywarp's for the sleep over. You can continue working on modifying tactics then."

Starscream sat up and started organizing their data pads, setting them on top of Thundercracker's bookshelf filled with data pads on flying. He was strangely surprised that Nebula wasn't upset at Thundercracker for making a fuss about going to recharge.

Thundercracker gave a resigned sigh, "_Sorry, 'Warp. We've got to go. We'll see you in the morning_."

"_It's not fair. You're always doing stuff without me. And now you're having a sleep over without me_," Skywarp pouted over the comlink.

Starscream took the pillow that Nebula brought for him to use. "_We're going to sleep over at your house tomorrow, 'Warp._"

There was a rude noise over the comlink, "_Whatever_."

Thundercracker and Starscream shared an exasperated look over Skywarp's comments.

"Tell Skywarp goodnight and turn off the comlinks." Nebula herded the younglings over to the berth.

They crawled into the berth and Nebula tucked them in, kissing each of them on the forehead. "I'm serious about you two needing to recharge. I want you to rest, that means no talking all night."

The light went out and it was silent except for the soft noise of Nebula heading to her own room. Kliks passed before Starscream whispered, "Okay, if we alter the thrust vectoring for the majority of the weave patterns, I think we can get sharper turn radii, which means we could-"

There was a soft swishing noise and both younglings sat bolt upright in the berth, their pale purple optics wide in fright.

"Whoa. Not good." A familiar voice and another set of purple optics peered out of the dark. "Too far to teleport."

"Skywarp! What are you doing?" Thundercracker hissed at his crazy friend.

The dizzy mech stumbled over to the recharge berth and crawled in. "It's not fair that you two get to have a sleep over without me."

"It's not really a sleep over."

Starscream shushed the other two, "Be quiet or we'll get in trouble."

"We aren't going to get in trouble," Skywarp yawned as he made himself comfortable between his two shocked friends. "We're still recharging like they wanted."

Neither mech could argue with Skywarp's strange brand of logic, so they curled up on the berth and slipped into recharge.

In the end, Thundercracker and Starscream wound up on the floor, cuddled up without their pillows, while the snoring Skywarp had taken over the entire berth, sprawling across it with both pillows tucked under his head.

--

Skywarp's disappearance resulted in an annoyed Stealthshadow appearing on the doorstep bright and early. And all three paid for his misbehavior with a much longer training session that lasted well into the afternoon. When assignments were handed out, even Starscream gasped at the amount of work that was expected from them for the next day.

Skywarp groused loudly, "We don't have time to complete this by tomorrow. We're having a sleep over, remember?"

"You mean you _had_ your sleep over. All three of you will be buried in homework for most of the night." Stealthshadow smirked evilly at the groaning younglings, "Don't give me slag about it. You brought this on yourselves."

Thundercracker sighed and brought out his stylus to work on the assignment. Better to start now so he could keep up with how fast Starscream worked.

The black and silver flier plucked the instrument from the younglings grasp, "You can work on that later. Time to run the course."

Three sets of surprised optics landed on the older flier. "But we already ran the course for today."

Stealthshadow crossed his arms over his cockpit, "Yeah, and you need to run it again. You three think you can do whatever you want without consequences? Well you better ditch that idea, because I won't allow this behavior."

Data pads were left on the floor as the pouting younglings got up and trudged towards the obstacle course for another three grueling joors of practice.

--

Skywarp beat his head on the floor in frustration.

All three younglings were lying on the floor of Skywarp's house, exhausted and trying to make sense of the homework they were given.

"Assimilating Alien Technology. Didn't we do this stuff before?" The black youngling opened one tired optic and glanced over the data pad.

"No. We studied how to identify alien technology." Starscream was hunched over the data pad and had to fight off a weary yawn.

Skywarp's head hit the floor again and he shuttered his optics. "This slagging sucks."

"We wouldn't be doing this if you had stayed at your house." Thundercracker was tired and losing his thin patience with his friend's incessant whining.

A hand was lifted and Skywarp demonstrated one of the more colorful hand signals he had picked up from his father-creator.

"You two need to quit it and get back to work. I don't want to upset Stealthshadow anymore than he already is."

Silence ensued for a breem as the three worked; it was shattered when Skywarp threw his data pad across the room, startling the other two. "Slag this. I'm not doing this anymore."

"You have to complete it, 'Warp. We have to turn it in tomorrow." Starscream crawled on his knees to where the data pad had skidded to a stop and picked it up. "Otherwise you'll just get in more trouble."

"Frak that. Frak him getting mad. Let him. I don't care anymore." The black youngling rested his head on his arms, snarling at the floor.

Starscream prodded Skywarp with the data pad. "Then what happens tomorrow when you're supposed to turn the assignment in?"

"Don't care." He shoved his friend's hand away. "Matter of fact. I'm not going to training tomorrow."

"You have to go, 'Warp. Stealthshadow will drag you there if you refuse to go."

The black mech picked up his head enough to glare at the other two. "He can't drag me if I'm not here." Skywarp pushed himself off the floor, "I'm going to run away."

Starscream and Thundercracker looked at each other before turning to stare at Skywarp. "You're going to run away just because of the homework?"

"Not just the homework." He said exasperatedly. "Every thing. All this slag, I'm tired of it."

The red and blue younglings shared another look and Thundercracker sighed. "Where are you going go, 'Warp? Some of the Iacon Precincts are really dangerous."

"Then I'll go to one of the safe ones."

Starscream sat up and gave the black youngling a tired an annoyed look. "And what are you going to do when you get there? You're too young to work and too young to go to the Academy."

Skywarp scowled with a harsh shrug, "Doesn't matter. Anything is better than this."

Thundercracker shook his head and went back to his homework. He could think of things much worse than all the homework and training. "This is fragging insane, 'Warp. _It's just homework_."

"You guys should come with me!"

Thundercracker offlined his optics and smacked the data pad in front of him with his forehead. "I take that back. _You're_ frakking insane and we're NOT going with you."

"You'll go with me, won't you 'Screamer?"

The blue mech shook his head and went back to his homework. This was the dumbest idea Skywarp had ever come up with.

"We should leave quickly. That way he can't stop us."

Thundercracker gave a martyred sigh and looked up to glare at Skywarp. "For the love of Primus! We're not going with-"

Starscream was sitting back on his heels in deep thought. He was seriously considering the idea of running away!

"…I need some time to get ready, 'Warp."

Thundercracker leapt to his feet and yelled at his two crazy friends. "THIS IS THE DUMBEST THING EVER! You can't run away! You have nowhere to go! You'll end up as homeless beggars! You don't even have credits to buy energon!"

Skywarp smirked mischievously, "I know where my father-creator stashes his credits."

The blue youngling threw his hands up in the air, "Fine. You two glitches run away. Have a great time being street bums. Seriously, good luck on your crazy adventure."

He scooped up his stylus and data pad and stalked over to the table, throwing himself at the nearest chair. He felt a jealous stab in his spark. He could understand why Starscream would want to run away, but Skywarp was just being an idiot. So much for being _'friends 'til the bitter end'_.

Starscream glanced at the furious Thundercracker, "He has a point, 'Warp…"

"Forget about him, 'Screamer. I can get us enough credits to last us until we get jobs."

"Good luck on getting into the Academy. I'm sure they accept homeless miscreants all the time." Thundercracker waved them off, "Good luck on getting your wings, too. I'm sure you can afford them with whatever job you get."

"Who's getting a job?" Stealthshadow walked into the room with a large bag and set it down on the table.

The blue mech shot a nasty glare at Skywarp, and then went back to his homework.

The black and silver flier glanced at the three younglings: Starscream looked torn and confused, Thundercracker was steaming in silence, and Skywarp glared directly at him in defiance. He couldn't help but be flippant, "Did I come at a bad time?"

Skywarp stormed over to Starscream and dragged him to his feet. "You came just in time to say goodbye. Come on, 'Screamer. We're leaving."

Stealthshadow stepped to one side as the black youngling pushed past him with Starscream in tow. "Where're you going?"

Skywarp snapped over his shoulder, "Away."

"Oh, okay. Have fun."

Stealthshadow pulled a holopad out of the bag along with a rather large bag of energon goodies as he eased into a chair and propped his feet on the table. He rummaged in the goodie bag until he found what he was looking for, and then pushed the bag across the table to Thundercracker. "Want some? We've got two entire bags to eat by ourselves. Oh, and I brought a couple of holodisks. You ever seen these?"

The blue youngling stared at the black and silver flier in confusion.

"They're running away, aren't they?"

Thundercracker nodded and scowled, "'Warp is malfunctioning. He thinks his life is miserable because of the training and homework. He's got the sense of a brass Dodo." He tossed his stylus on the table in frustration, "He has no fragging clue and he's dragging Starscream around on his daft 'running away' plan. 'Warp has no idea of how good he's got it."

He sympathetically listened to the youngling vent until his blustered anger died away. "You want something to drink, TC?"

The blue mech shrugged, "Sure."

Stealthshadow rose from his chair and headed into the kitchen. "Why didn't you run away with them?"

Thundercracker pulled the bag of energon goodies over and grabbed a handful. "Because it's a stupid idea and I'm not a spoiled sparkling that throws a tantrum every time something doesn't go my way."

He shoved a goodie into his mouth as the black and silver flier set two large energon cubes on the table. "What's the point of running away? I love my mother-creator, I like being here, I enjoy the training, and I even like the homework! 'Warp is just…" He met the green optics of the older mech, "He's going to upset 'Screamer."

Stealthshadow settled back in his seat and took a long draught of his energon cube, "I think you need to give 'Screamer a little more credit. He's a bright mech and he'll convince that idiot sparkling of mine that this is a bad idea."

"You didn't hear 'Screamer say that he needed time to get things ready."

The older mech nodded as he collected his thoughts. He needed to convince the youngling that things were about to change for the better. "They'll return shortly, TC. Once they realize how hard it is to move around in the Precinct, they'll be back. Or brought back by one of the Guardian Fliers. Everything will be okay."

Thundercracker sighed as he reached for the energon cube and took a drink. He looked completely miserable as he set the cube down and he drew the back of his hand over his mouth, "Yeah, everything will be just perfect."

An optic ridge rose and worldly green optics regarded the youngling curiously, "You don't seem very optimistic about it."

"Why would I be? If I had just- Slag it all." He muttered and stared at the cube.

"If you had just what. TC?"

The youngling sat in silence.

"Come on, TC," Stealthshadow prodded him. "You know I won't tell anyone. Mech to mech, warrior to warrior. Things said while drinking don't leave the table."

Thundercracker looked away from the cube of energon, "…I knew what was happening and I didn't do anything about it."

So Thundercracker did know. "There was nothing you could do about this, TC," Stealthshadow took another drink from his cube. "Nebula and I have been trying for a long time, probably longer than you knew about it. But that's going to change now, you know why?"

The youngling's optics met his, cold disbelief apparent in them.

"Because we're not letting him go back to that. His mother-creator has been taken somewhere safe and Nebula and I will be taking care of him from now on."

"You could have done that much sooner if I had told someone about it earlier…"

"No, and don't you dare think that this is your fault, Thundercracker. Because it's not. We've tried everything for the past six stellar cycles trying to get the authorities to do something on it. Now we're taking matters into our own hands."

The blue mech didn't seem to be convinced, but Stealthshadow wasn't given the chance to try and persuade him further as the front door opened and Skywarp sulked back into the house with Starscream beside him.

The black and silver mech downed the rest of his cube and winked at Thundercracker, quickly picking up his holopad and pretending to read it. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested."

"We aren't staying long," Skywarp snarled.

"Then who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

The black youngling growled and headed for the kitchen.

"Hey! Get out of there! I keep my energon in there and I don't like to share."

Skywarp stomped back into the room and crossed his arms over his chest, "Where are the grease guns?"

"Grease guns? Why would I keep grease guns? Those are sparkling toys and I haven't had a sparkling around in a long time. Real pain in the aft he was, too. Glad I got rid of him."

Thundercracker stifled a snicker as he dug inside of the energon goodie bag. He glanced at Starscream and pushed the bag over to him with an evil grin.

Skywarp glared at his father-creator.

The black and silver mech ignored him and held the holopad out to Thundercracker, "Hey, TC. Look at the new design for the SR-71. Someone _finally_ figured out how to mask RCS signals so those of us with stealth alternate modes can stay hidden from enemy radar. About slaggin' time. You wanna look at it 'Screamer? You should be designing armor and munitions for them. Frag. You should be _leading_ the research facilities."

The approval-starved mech brightened and peeked at the holopad over Thundercracker's shoulder while he shoved an energon treat into his mouth.

Stealthshadow grinned at the red and blue younglings. He casually turned his attention on the steaming Skywarp and tapped his lips in thought, "You know, you sorta look like that rotten sparkling I had. Eh, forget about him. You want an energon goodie? I don't usually feed the street drones, but I'll make an exception in your case."

Skywarp's heated glare was nearing supernova.

"No? Suit yourself. Leaves more for us." The flier held up the holodisks to show Starscream. "Ever seen any of these, 'Screamer? TC and I were just about to watch one."

Skywarp gave Starscream a scandalous look, "HEY! I thought we were going to leave?"

Starscream shoved another energon goodie into his mouth as he followed Thundercracker and Stealthshadow over to the vid screen. "But I want to see 'Organic part 3: Attack of the Fleshies'."

--

Halfway through the movie and after the second bag of energon goodies had been opened, Skywarp decided to stop glowering and join the three mechs on the floor.

Halfway into the second movie, all three younglings were out cold in a pile and sleeping through Skywarp's snoring.

Stealthshadow left them as they were as he shut off the vid screen and turned out the lights. They would need all the rest they could get for the next morning.

--

Like it? Hate it? Let me know.


	11. Of Sparklings and Paint

**A/N:** _On the subject of creating sparklings: I've seen many people put forth a plethora of ideas on exactly how sparklings are brought into the world, so here's what I think. You can create a spark by either a) going to a clinic and have a medic extract the needed information (DNA for transformers)from a single spark to make a sparkling, or b) you can do it the old fashioned way by a bonded couple. In my little universe here, Nebula and Stealthshadow used option a._

Synopsis: Full circle on why the Seekers look the way they do. Skywarp is still a brat, but he shows that he has his moments of complete clarity. Hints of other characters. Cookies if you can guess who. Not as obvious as it seems!

**Disclaimer:** Takara, Hasbro et al. owns Transformers. I only make a handful of readers smile and that is reward enough for me. The characters Stealthshadow and Nebula are mine alone. Wraith and Wraith technology are also mine as is the tale of the Seekers in early Cybertronian history.

_Notes: Primacron is the name of one of Cyberton's two moons and was given it's most awesome name by Fire From Above. Much love for your creative mind._

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed, reviews given much love. Stealing is not.

**Chapter 11** – Of Sparklings and Paint

In the pre-dawn joors when the majority of Iacon was still asleep, Nebula left her house and walked in peaceful silence through the neighborhood. Shadows ruled the streets, with only the faint blue light reflected from Primacron and the few lights in the city keeping the inky black of night from swallowing the area completely. Her light footfalls could barely be registered by even the sharpest audio receptors as she strolled along the sidewalk. Today was the day that she had been hoping and dreading for, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about this morning as she neared her destination. He wasn't a sparkling anymore, no matter how much she wished he would stay as one. Her shy and quiet Thundercracker was growing up. In a matter of deca-cycles he would be taking his entrance exams, and in less than a stellar cycle he would be at the Academy. Nebula sighed to herself as she stepped lightly on the stoop.

Stealthshadow, true to his name, was standing silently off to the side of the stoop, leaning against the building with his green optics dimmed. He had been outside waiting for Nebula to arrive. "It's not safe for a femme to walk alone in the dark."

She turned and gave him a deceptively sweet smile. "Femmes wouldn't need to worry about the dark if they carried fully-loaded photon rifles."

The black and silver flier stepped out of his shadow with an approving smirk, "My kind of femme."

There was a soft hiss of a subspace pocket opening, "And I'm not afraid to use them."

He backed up slightly with his hands out in front of him defensively, "Careful, you'll wake the sleeping sparklings."

"They aren't up yet?" The subspace pocket closed.

"I thought I'd wait until the last possible moment so they won't understand where we're taking them."

Nebula shook her head, "You're a cruel mech."

"Cruel was my second designation."

They crept quietly into the darkened living room of the small house towards the soundly asleep, and sprawled out in all directions, younglings.

"They look so sweet when they're sleeping," Nebula cooed softly.

The evil glimmer in the black and silver flier's optics could cause frozen high-grade shiver, "Wait 'til you see them awake."

There was only the faintest rumble as Stealthshadow brought his thrusters online. He stomped on the floor in between the younglings, his turbine whirling to life in a roar of pure high-powered destructive energy. His running lights flashed, filling the entire room with sensor-disrupting light as the three younglings leapt into the air screaming. "UP AND AT 'EM, FEMMES! YOU'RE WASTING VALUABLE TRAINING TIME!!" Stealthshadow bellowed at them.

The shrieking trio quickly scattered to the corners of the room as far away from the overwhelmingly frightening noise and the wild light display as they could

Nebula shook her head at the black and silver mech's dramatics and helped the shaky and completely disorientated Thundercracker and Skywarp to their feet. "If you're done playing, Stealth, we have appointments that we're late for."

Chuckling, he hoisted a bewildered Starscream up from his corner of the room, "But you have to admit that was priceless."

"You'll see just how 'priceless' it was when I leave you to care for three sore and whining younglings."

A groggy Skywarp shook the scrambled remnants of sleep away from his processors to form the first coherent question. "Appointments for what?"

Stealthshadow hefted Starscream under one arm and took his tottering youngling from Nebula's safe grasp, "Let's just say it's going to hurt and leave it at that."

--

The three sat between a very calm blue femme and a very bored black and silver mech in a painfully stark white hallway. Other mechs and femmes passed them by without a look, most talking to themselves or reading over data pads. They had no idea what time it was, where they were, or even why they were there. And the entire situation, from being woken up by the wrath of Primus in the form of a jet flier's turbines, to the unexpected trip to the clinically sterile environment, had each of their fuel pumps in a lurch.

Wide and frightened purple optics darted around the hallway. Thundercracker leaned close to Starscream and Skywarp on his left and whispered hoarsely, "Where are we?"

Skywarp leaned over Starscream to answer, "I have no slaggin' clue, but I don't like it."

The red mech stuck in the middle curled in on himself, but took a little comfort that wherever he was, Skywarp and Thundercracker were there with him in this strange and overwhelmingly scary place. They were huddled so close together that Starscream could feel Thundercracker's shaking fear and Skywarp's thinly veiled ire.

It didn't take long before Starscream's inquisitiveness was able to shove the fear of the unknown into the back recesses of his mind and attempt to puzzle out where they were. From the adult's postures, they seemed to be familiar with the place. Nebula sat comfortably in her chair and was casually reading a holopad. Stealthshadow was slouched in his chair, obviously bored out of his processors. He picked at the arm rests, rummaged through the scattered holopads on a small table to his left, stared at the ceiling, fidgeted uncontrollably and sighed every couple of kliks.

Starscream turned his attention on the near constant stream of mechs and femmes walking past them. They were oblivious of the group for the most part; only giving pointed glances at Stealthshadow when his large feet were in the way of the hall. Many of the people were speaking softly as if they were trying to keep from disturbing something or someone. And most were in their original protoforms. There were a handful with short wings or helio-blades; a few more with wheels… and most of them were _white_.

"We're in a hospital," Starscream breathed quietly to his friends.

"How do you know that?" Skywarp's optics dodged back and forth over the hall.

"Why are we in a hospital?" Thundercracker stared at the next set of mechs as they passed.

Starscream strained to hear what some of the mechs were saying. "I don't know."

"Maybe someone is having a sparkling?"

Two sets of purple optics turned to stare at Skywarp in disbelief. He looked at his friends, "What? That's why you go to hospitals. Either someone is having a sparkling or someone's dying."

The air hung silent between the three for a klik or two, and then as one entity, they slowly turned to look at Nebula. She didn't seem overly anxious as she turned another page in the holopad that she was reading. She was calm, cool and collected – nothing like one would imagine a femme would be if she were having a sparkling.

Nebula noticed their curious gazes and quietly smiled at them.

Skywarp looked back at Thundercracker and whispered harshly, "You never said she was having a sparkling!"

"She's not having a sparkling!" Thundercracker whispered back defensively.

Skywarp glared at his friend, "She's having a sparkling!"

Starscream tried to play referee between the two, "We don't know if anyone is having a sparkling for sure. Maybe it's someone they know who's sick and we're just here to visit."

Skywarp persisted, "Someone in having a sparkling!"

"Well, it's not _my_ creator!" Thundercracker hissed.

"TC. 'Warp. We could be here just to visit…" Starscream's words were completely ignored.

"She's the only femme we know. _She_'s having a sparkling!"

"She is _not_! Maybe it's _your_ creator that's having the sparkling!"

Starscream gave up.

"My creator can't have a sparkling, you glitch! He's a mech!"

"Then were is your mother-creator, 'Warp?"

Skywarp backed off slightly, "I… don't have one."

Thundercracker stuck his tongue out at the black mech, "_Your creator is having a sparkling!_"

Starscream leaned back with a soft sigh, "Maybe they're having a sparkling together."

Skywarp and Thundercracker stared at each other as Starscream's declaration sunk into their angry processors.

Thundercracker turned to look at Starscream, "That would make us… brothers, wouldn't it?"

"But you guys are already like brothers to me. If TC and me become like _brother_-brothers, then what does that make 'Screamer?" Skywarp glanced between his two best friends.

Starscream gave a martyred sigh, "Makes me still stuck between you two glitches. Just because your creators decided to make a sparkling doesn't mean-" Purple optics widened in horror as Starscream squeaked to a stop mid sentence.

"Uh, 'Screamer?" Skywarp waved his hand in front of his friend's optics.

Thundercracker shook his arm slightly, "'Screamer? What's wrong?"

The look of pure horror didn't diminish as Starscream glanced wildly between his two friends. He tried to blank his processors of the disturbing image, and found that it didn't work. "They decided to make a sparkling…"

Thundercracker and Skywarp shared a confused look.

The red mech boggled and tried to spell it out for them. If he was going to be stuck with the disturbing image then he was going to make sure that the others had to suffer with it too. "They made a sparkling. _Made_ a sparkling." He gestured with his hands trying to pull their processors into sync with his. "_Made_… you know, as in… _made_ it **together**."

Starscream was certain that he heard the click inside their heads as both mechs finally caught on to what he was saying.

Thundercracker, with a measured amount of sense, whispered quietly, "You mean…"

Starscream nodded quickly.

Skywarp on the other hand…

"**EWWWW!"**

All attention in the hallway was drawn to the horrified black youngling.

Stealthshadow reached over and thwacked Skywarp in the head with a holopad. "Sparklings."

Skywarp spluttered and writhed in his chair with his tongue stuck out in pure revulsion as he made disgusting gagging noises. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew! I bet they did it while we at the recreation center!"

The sound of someone clearing her voice drew Stealthshadow's and Nebula's attention away from the misbehaving Skywarp.

A white femme smiled at them, "Sorry to keep you waiting. We had an emergency this morning and we've been playing catch up since then."

Nebula stood up and shook the femme's proffered hand, "That's perfectly alright. I'm Nebula and this is Stealthshadow."

The white femme shook the black and silver flier's hand and then smiled at the three younglings. Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp drew away from the strange femme.

She looked back at Nebula in surprise, "Triplets? We've only had one set of twins created in recent times, but triplets! I don't think there has been a recorded set of triplets since… since the Science Academy was built!"

The blue femme laughed nervously, "They're not related."

"They might as well be," Stealthshadow gave the trio a sharp glare. "They're practically attached by their afts."

The white femme looked highly disappointed, "Single sparked?"

Nebula and Stealthshadow nodded in unison.

The white femme tsk'ed and wrote something down on her data pad. She knelt down in front of Starscream and held her hand out, "I'm Doctor Nova Alert. What's your name?"

The red mech looked at the hand before reaching out and gently shaking it, "I'm Starscream."

"That's a very strong name, Starscream. You know, I have a youngling of my own who's about your age." She smiled warmly at him. "Are you ready to come with me?"

Starscream yanked his hand back. "Come with you where?"

Thundercracker pulled him away from the femme, putting himself between her and his friend. The blue mech's guilty conscience flared at that exact moment and he stood up to the supposed doctor. Stealthshadow said that Starscream's mother-creator was being taken somewhere safe. What if they decided to send Starscream away too? He shot Stealthshadow a betrayed glare before turning his attention back on the femme. He wasn't going to let these people separate them. "You're not taking him anywhere."

A slightly confused Skywarp jumped into aid his friends, crossing his arms over his small chest and glaring at everyone. "Yeah! You're not taking him anywhere!"

The doctor looked up at Stealthshadow expectantly, but was met with an amused smirk. "I take it that you didn't tell them about this?"

He shrugged sheepishly, "Thought it would be funny to see their reactions. Didn't expect this though."

Nova Alert turned back to the defiant younglings, "I'm not going to hurt him. Actually, it might be better if I took all three of you at once. Then no one will be scared or nervous about what is happening. I think I've got a room big enough for everyone. "

Skywarp's optics narrowed, "We aren't scared. We're not some wimpy sparklings."

Starscream looked the doctor dead in the optics, "Where are you planning to take us?"

She laughed and smiled again, "Into the protoform reformatting room."

Thundercracker's protective stance suddenly relaxed and his jaw dropped, "Protoform reformatting? That means… that means..." He looked up at Nebula for confirmation that he wasn't dreaming.

His mother-creator broke into a wide smile with fluid forming in the corners of her optics, "You're getting your wings, dear-spark."

"Wings?!" Skywarp's guard dropped. He whooped loudly, grabbing the arms of the other two younglings and trying to spin them around in his excitement, all the while interrupting traffic in the hallway. "Wings! We're getting our wings! We're going to be fliers!"

Starscream glanced at Stealthshadow and Nebula as he was roughly dragged in lop-sided circles. The black and silver flier grinned and patted his shoulder when it came into reach. "You earned them, Starscream."

--

The three could barely keep still as they sat on the examining tables, gabbering inanely at each other in excitement. Plans were made and discarded as each one animatedly suggested where they should go first with their new wings. Every major landmark in Iacon was thrown into the ring. Every Precinct was named. Then the lesser areas. Then Kaon. Then Vos. Primacron…

Nova Alert prepared the program for the first reformat. She called out over her shoulder, "Okay, who is going first?"

"I WANNA! I WANNA!" Skywarp shook the table he was on while waving madly at the doctor.

"Thundercracker should go first."

Nova Alert looked at Starscream thoughtfully, "You don't want to go first?"

The red mech turned to grin at Thundercracker, "TC has always wanted to be a flier. He should go first."

The blue youngling gaped at his best friend, "Really?"

Starscream smiled back at him.

Nova Alert moved over to Thundercracker's table and started to examine his body, "What kind of flier do you want to be when you grow up?"

The blue mech's greatest ambition came tumbling out in one excited breath, "Guardian Flier - Alpha Class, Flight Squadron AA-17 Air Commander."

The doctor paused in her examination, "That's quite a mouthful."

Thundercracker nodded enthusiastically.

She chuckled and started to take body measurements, "Any special requests for your reformat? Any special colors you want?"

Bright purple optics gazed up at the doctor, "We can do stuff like that?"

"Well, within reason. Your body hasn't grown enough to carry wings like… Was is Stealthshadow?"

"Yes, that's Skywarp's creator."

"His wings are too big for a mech your size to carry, and the aerial combat class wings are too wide for you." Nova Alert looked over at Starscream and Skywarp. "All three of you seem to be the same size and weight. I have three styles that should fit you."

She went back to her computer terminal and brought up the three wing styles and projected them on the main screen in front of the trio. She walked over to the screen and tapped on the first style, bringing the image to the front of the others and showing the logistic data for the wing. "This is the basic leading-edge wing design. It's lightweight and very sturdy, with easy to control ailerons. It allows minimal transformation sequences. It's a good starter wing for new fliers."

Thundercracker's face fell at the sight of the ugly wing design. "That doesn't look anything like a Guardian Flier…"

"Eh. Boring. What else do you have?" Skywarp motioned animatedly for her to move to the next design.

Nova Alert touched the screen again and brought up the next wing. "This is the reverse-angled wing. It curves forward for gliding and needs little rudder control for wide and easy turns."

Skywarp balked, "Please say the last ones are real wings. We're going to be the best fliers Cybertron's ever seen. We need something agile enough for close cornering, with dual directional air intakes, multi-flexing ailerons for minimal yaw, sturdy enough for handling poststall maneuvering and it needs to give us full transformation sequencing. Not to mention they need to be sleek and cool."

Stunned, the doctor looked at the hyperactive youngling, "The three of you are all full of surprises. All right, let's see if some of the wing designs for mechs bigger than you fit your requirements and I'll see if I can make adjustments. I'm assuming you have specific coloring and patterns you want on you wings and upgrades?"

The three glanced between themselves. "We didn't know you could do that."

Nova Alert walked back to the computer terminal, "Why don't you decide on that while I find something that your frames can handle?"

They leaned in to huddle as best as they could while on three different tables.

Dreams of being a Guardian Flier filled Thundercracker's imagination. "We should get the same cadet gray coloring that the Guardian Fliers use."

Skywarp snorted, "Boring! Next idea."

"Just stay the same as we are now with a few changes?"

"Even more boring! Come on, guys! You can think of something better."

Thundercracker glared at Skywarp, "Why don't you come up with an idea, 'Warp, since you don't like our ideas."

Skywarp sat back on his hands and scrunched up his faceplate in thought, "How about… I've got it!" He leaned forward and rubbed his hands together, "You know how my creator has the silver stripes on his wings? Well, we should get stripes like that, except we should use each other's colors! Like TC's wings would be blue with black and red stripes, and 'Screamer's wings should be red with black and blue stripes! That way we look like we're real brothers!"

Starscream glanced between Thundercracker and Skywarp, "I want to be silver and red, but I'll put your colors on my wings."

Skywarp grinned and looked at Thundercracker, "Well? Do you want to do this?"

A wide grin spread across the blue youngling's face, "Yeah, I'll put your colors on!"

"Have you made your decision?" Nova Alert walked back to the main screen and brought up the new design.

Skywarp grinned mischievously, "We want each other's colors striped on our wings!"

"Sounds like a great idea and I think I found something that fits your needs. It's not exactly what you asked for, but it's the best I can do until it's time for your next reformat session." She touched the screen and the wing design came to the front. "Full transformation sequencing designed for a more experienced flier."

Thundercracker's optics lit up, "That's perfect!"

Starscream and Skywarp agreed unanimously with the blue mech's decision.

"Okay. It will only take a few moments to set this up." She moved to Thundercracker's table and brought up another touch screen. While she was entering data for his protoform reformat, worker drones came in with the needed supplies and started to prep the table. They had Thundercracker lay back and Nova Alert showed him the design he had picked with the color scheme, "This is it. I need to know if you are sure this is what you want."

He nodded enthusiastically, his body barely able to hold his excitement.

"All right. I'm going to put you in a light stasis while the process is happening. When you wake up you will be sore. It might take a few solar cycles before your body gets used to its reformat." One of the drones brought over a tray and she picked up a syringe, "We'll see you when you wake up, Thundercracker."

She injected the contents into his main energon line and watched as his optics powered down. A screen with his vital diagnostics came up and she entered a few lines of code. Assured that the youngling was in stasis and vitals were normal, she moved over to Starscream's table.

"I want to be silver and red," He looked up at her nervously.

"I can do that," Nova Alert quickly entered the data and brought up a touch screen for Starscream to use. "Show me what you want."

With a critical optic and a smile, he designed his color scheme to match his mother-creator's and then added the stripes to his wings. He gazed at the image for a moment to make sure it was perfect and then nodded to Nova Alert. "I want this."

"I can do that," She smiled and had him lay back on the table, "Same thing for you that I told Thundercracker. I'm putting you into stasis, and you will be sore for a few solar cycles."

He nodded and eyed the syringe she picked up, "See you when you wake up, Starscream."

He shuttered his optics as she injected the sedative into him. The drones brought the supplies over as she watched his vital statistics. Certain that he was fine, she walked over to Skywarp with a smile. "You know the drill."

"I am so ready for this." He lay back on the table and watched as she brought up the touch screen with the design. The image of his new protoform with black wings and red and blue stripes came up and he frowned. "That looks awful…"

Nova Alert peered at the youngling, "But it's the same thing your friends are getting."

He gave her a downtrodden look, "But theirs looked good."

"Well, I need you to decide what you want to do. Do you want to be all black?"

"Ugh, no." He sat up and poked at the touch screen, flipping the design and the colors around, trying to make them look better. "Oh! I know what to do!" He changed the design and then showed the doctor.

She looked at Skywarp curiously, "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes!"

"All right," She had him lay back and injected the sedative into his main energon line. "See you when you wake up."

--

Everything felt strange. Not in a bad way, but different than it had before. Starscream's optics fluttered open and a painfully bright light greeted him. He moved to block out the glare and was stunned to see a silver and blue arm in front of him. His optics ran down his arm to his chest, appraising his new design with a smile. He sat up and groaned. Nova Alert wasn't joking when she said he would be sore. Slowly he turned his head to look at his wings, but met Thundercracker's sparkling grin. His best friend sported sleek deep metallic blue wings with red and black striping. A black hand waved at him and he waved back. "Do mine look like –"

Thundercracker nodded enthusiastically, "How do mine look?"

"Really good." Starscream had to admit that the wings looked like they belonged on Thundercracker, almost as if he had been lacking them for all this time and now he was finally complete.

A groan to their left drew their attention, and they both turned to see Skywarp's reaction to their new wings.

"Aw slag, I hurt." The once black youngling sat up slowly and put his hand on the edge of the table. A very _purple_ hand.

Thundercracker's optics bulged out of his faceplate, "They got your colors wrong, 'Warp!"

"Hmm?" Skywarp looked at his hand and grinned, turning around to face his friends. "No they didn't."

Starscream gaped, "I thought we were going to use each other's colors!"

He looked his new protoform over with a smile, "But I did."

"Are you color blind? You were supposed to get blue and red stripes!"

"Wow, I am sore." He carefully flexed his arms.

"'Warp," Thundercracker growled. "Why didn't you get our colors?"

"Because it looked awful, so I fixed it." He grinned. "What? You act like it's a bad thing."

Starscream crossed his arms over his new red and silver chest, "And how is that _fixing_ it?"

"You two." He shook his head. "It's still red and blue…. In a sense."

"How?"

"Simple," A perfectly mischievous smirk played across his face. "Red and blue make purple!"

--

"Well, look at you three!" Nebula bubbled as Nova Alert brought the trio out of the reformatting room.

Stealthshadow's optic ridges rose upon seeing Skywarp's new protoform. "Black and _purple_?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, "Red and blue make purple."

Nebula laughed, "So you took on each other's colors? That's very sweet. Now everyone will truly think that you're brothers."

Skywarp stuck his tongue out at Starscream and Thundercracker. "See? She understands!"

Nova Alert chuckled and shook her head, "You can take them home now. They'll be sore for a few days, so no flying and I highly recommend that they don't try out their transformation sequencing, but I doubt they'll wait."

"We'll try our best to keep them busy enough so they don't even think about disobeying the doctor's orders," Stealthshadow's words were for the doctor, but his glare was for the younglings.

"If you have any questions, you can call me here at the clinic," Nova Alert shook Nebula's and Stealthshadow's hands. "Good luck with them."

Nebula ran her hand gently over Thundercracker's new wings approvingly, "They look perfect on you, dear-spark."

"Yeah, you three look like you might not be the glitchmice I thought you were," Stealthshadow smirked. "So who's ready to go run the obstacle course for the next five joors?"

"No way!" Skywarp slumped, "Didn't you hear her say we're sore and shouldn't do training and homework for the next few solar cycles?"

"I didn't hear her mention anything about stopping training or homework, sparkling."

"I have a better idea," Nebula put her hands on Thundercracker and Starscream's shoulders. "Let's go get something to eat and then take the rest of the day off. Do something fun for a change."

"I like that idea. We should do that!" Skywarp quickly agreed with her with Starscream and Thundercracker seconding the suggestion.

"Eh, I guess I'm out numbered. Okay, let's go do something _fun_." Stealthshadow pointed at Nebula, "But you're paying."

"Fine. You get to keep them for another sleep over tonight. Deal?" The youngling trio cheered and drew the attention of everyone in the area to the group.

"You drive a hard bargain, but okay. I'll take them. Now let's find some place to eat. I'm starving."

--

Nebula and the three sore younglings walked back to her house, the trio pointing and examining each other's wings. Thundercracker and Starscream had finally agreed that Skywarp's artistic prerogative was acceptable and that he didn't look too much like a femme for wearing purple. Nebula watched them bickering while she made plans on how to teach them the basics of flying. Stealthshadow had ensured that they had the strength and endurance to withstand some of the rigors of flight. And the three were eager to start right away; they were completely confidant that they would be able to fly with very little training.

She shook her head and smiled as they reached the stoop to her house. They were growing up too fast.

An audio piercing scream and sharp laser blasts stopped all movement on the street. Starscream froze on the spot from hearing the familiar scream. He slowly turned to face his house.

The front door was open.

He leapt off the sidewalk and tore across the street parting the stunned crowd, shoving and pushing everyone who was in his way.

"STARSCREAM! WAIT!" Nebula shouted after the youngling as she brought her photon rifle out of subspace.

The youngling threw the front door open and bolted inside screaming for his mother-creator.

Nebula grabbed Skywarp by the shoulders and shook him. "Go get Stealthshadow now! Teleport home and get him! NOW!"

The stunned youngling nodded and disappeared with a soft swishing sound.

"Thundercracker!" She spun to face her youngling, "I want you to stay here. When Skywarp comes back, BOTH of you go inside and stay there. Got it?" She didn't wait for an answer from him as she pivoted quickly and sprinted through the growing crowd that was gathering in the street.

There was another series of laser blasts as she reached the stoop and the graceful flier saw red.

She was going to kill that slagger.

--

Like it? Hate it? Let me know, please.


	12. Broken Wings

**A/N:** _I am not responsible in any way, shape or form for how you perceive this chapter. Read at your own risk._

Synopsis: Best left unsaid for this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Takara, Hasbro et al. owns Transformers. I only make a handful of readers smile and that is reward enough for me. The characters Nebula and Stealthshadow are my own. Wraith and Wraith technology are also mine, as is the tale of the Seekers from early Cybertronian history.

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed. Reviews given much love. Stealing is not.

**Chapter 12** – Broken Wings

"Purple is still a femmes color, but I guess it's not that bad," Thundercracker eyed Skywarp's choice of coloring with a critical optic.

"Hey! It's still red and blue!" The now black and purple youngling had been on the defensive since leaving the clinic.

"Except we don't look like trine mates. TC and I look like -." A familiar audio piercing scream filled the busy street making Starscream's fuel pump seize in paralyzing fear. Every servo in his body froze as multiple laser blasts echoed through the neighborhood. _No. No. No. Primus. No. Please no._ It felt like his entire body was made of ice as he painfully turned to look across the street.

The front door was open.

_No. No. No. No!_ He didn't feel the street under him as he sprinted through the gawking crowd, his optics focused solely on the open door. He couldn't get there fast enough. The very air around him was holding him in place, keeping him from reaching the door. His foot caught purchase on the bottom step and he lunged for it, ripping the door open. He vaguely heard it slam against the wall as he skidded to a stop in the front hallway.

Another series of laser blasts rang in his audio receptors and the acrid smell of ozone leached into the air around him.

_Primus, no!_ His voice caught in his throat as he tried to call out for her. His mind started to race in sheer panic. He had no weapon to counter a gun and any hit could kill him instantly. All he had to fight with was his life. He would shield her with his body so she could escape. Nebula was outside. She would save his mother-creator while he bought her time to flee.

"I knew you would come back! You always came back to protect _him_! Now look what's it's gotten you! You think that he's _safe_? Well, I know where your precious Pit-spawned sparkling is." The mech's venomous voice dripped with violence, "He's just across the street with that nosy slaggin' femme. And you know what? Once I deactivate your lousy frakkin' spark I'm going to go over there and **rip him limb from worthless limb**!"

He could hear her pained whimpering from the kitchen. He clenched his fists in rage, ignoring the sick popping noises that came from his hands as he crushed his articulation servos. He was going to kill that frakking slagheap.

Without a second thought, he grabbed the small table that sat in the hallway and bolted into the kitchen with a feral roar. His first swing knocked the gun out of the mech's surprised grasp. His second caught the mech under the chin and sent him stumbling backwards; the back swing sent him tumbling to the floor. Starscream brought the table crashing down on the knees of his opponent, eliciting a howl of pain as he severed the power relays in the joints. He lifted the chair and bashed at the gray mech's knees again. Another howl came from his mouth, but this time the mech tried to grab the table. Starscream struck at the hands, knocking them away. He brought the table up and hacked at the knee joints of the flailing mech, nearly severing the leg from his body.

Starscream's optics flared red as all the anger and pain that he had buried inside came out in the form of guttural snarls. The table was lifted repeatedly and fell repeatedly, pounding his abuser with every ounce of hatred that the youngling felt towards the mech that had helped create him. Energon splashed him as he bashed at limbs that tried to fend off the blows. The mech swooned and fell back hard against the floor, but that didn't stop Starscream from continuing his attack. He continued to rain blows on the fallen mech until the dented table fell to pieces in his hands. He tossed the remaining pieces away and kicked the mech in the side. "You will never hurt her again!" He spat on the offlined mech.

"Starscream…"

He turned to face his mother-creator, smiling triumphantly and relieved that he had saved her from any further abuse from that mech…

She was slumped in the corner in a quickly growing pool of energon.

Abject fear gripped his spark as he ran to her and fell to his knees in her warm lifeblood. With shaking hands, he carefully eased her onto her side. Bright blue sparks flickered and danced over her laser core which he could see clearly through a wide gaping hole in her chest. "Don't move," His voice trembled as he tried to stand up. "I-I'm going t-to call a medic. J-just don't move."

The silver and red femme grabbed his hand and brought him back to her side, "It's all right, dear-spark."

"But you need a medic! We need to stop the bleeding before-"

She reached up and lovingly caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers, leaving a thick purple trail of energon shining in the kitchen light, "Look at you with your wings."

He started to panic; Stealthshadow had only taught them basic field repairs. He didn't know how to stop serious bleeding like this. "Please, let me call a medic, it will only take a moment."

"Starscream," She smiled at him and stroked his cheek again, "You are and ever will be the brightest light of my spark. I'm so sorry. I wanted us to be a real family, one without the yelling and… I'm sorry I couldn't give you a happy family. You deserved one. You deserved so much more than I could give-"

"Don't say things like that! Don't!" He gripped her hand tightly. "We can have a happy life now. Just us! You don't have to worry about him ever again! It will be just us from now on."

Her optics focused on his silver and red wings and her smile spread, "I'm so glad to see you with your wings. Now you can fly away from all of this."

"I don't need to fly away. We're going to have a happy life now. We won't need to get away from anything anymore."

"My little Starscream… I _want_ you to fly away. I want you to use those beautiful wings and learn to be happy." Energon trickled from the corner of her mouth as she coughed.

"STARSCREAM!" Nebula's shout made him jump.

"CALL A MEDIC! HURRY!" Starscream gripped his creator's hands tightly, "Help is coming. Everything will be fine."

She brought his hands to her energon-stained lips and kissed them. "I want you to fly, Starscream. For me? Will you fly for me?"

"You can watch me fly. Nebula is going to teach us to fly. You can come and watch us practice!" His voice broke as he saw her purple optics flicker. "You have to stay awake until the medic comes. Okay? Stay here with me. Please?"

Energon splattered his hands when she coughed again. "Promise me you will be happy, Starscream."

"What? Of course I'll be happy. We'll be happy together-"

Her optics dimmed, "Promise me, Starscream. Promise me that you will fly away and be happy."

"Stay awake!" He shook her hands, "You have to stay awake!"

"Promise me, dear-spark…"

"You have to stay awake!" Starscream became frantic. "SOMEONE HELP!!"

"Starscream…"

"I promise! I promise! I swear I will, just stay here with me! Please? The medic is coming!" His petrified voice reached into the highest octaves of pure panic, "I-I can hear them outside now! Stay with me!"

"…fly away, my little Starscream… fly away from here and be happy…"

He watched in horror as her laser core flickered with tiny blue sparks. He pulled her close to him, "Please stay with me! Please! Please, don't leave me alone!"

"…Fly away-"

Her quiet words died away as searing white pain pierced through his wing. He screeched in agony as her body went limp in his arms, his own energon spilling across her body. He turned around just enough to see the gun in the hand of the gray mech, blood red optics flashing in pure fury.

"Rotten Pit-spawn! I should have ended your miserable life a long time ago!"

Starscream glared back at the mech, shifting his body to protect his mother-creator. He would not let him harm her anymore.

A flash of purple light appeared in the middle of the kitchen and a very large black and silver mech sent a vicious kick to the chest of the gray mech. The gun went off and hit the light above, shattering the fixture and sending pieces of it raining down everywhere. Stealthshadow rushed him and sent the mech skidding on the energon-covered floor; he grappled for the gun as wild shots sprayed the entire room.

The high-pitched whine of something quickly powering up filled the room and a beam of golden light flew from Stealthshadow's outstretched arm, hitting the mech almost point-blank in the chest. The gray mech stopped fighting, his optics wide as he fell backwards, twitching. The black and silver flier yanked the gun from the shuddering hand.

"You okay, Starscream?" Stealthshadow turned to look at the youngling and cringed as he saw Starscream clinging to his mother-creator's lifeless body, begging her to wake up.

Multiple footsteps were rushing up the steps and a flurry of medics spilled into the violence stained kitchen. Nebula was on their heels, her wild optics searching for Starscream.

Stealthshadow caught her gaze and shook his head. Anger flashed across her features and she shot a poisonous glare at the still twitching mech.

One of the hovering medics knelt by Starscream. "Let me see your wing."

"I'm fine! Help her!" He shook his mother-creator's arm trying to wake her. "Wake up! Help's here! Open your optics!"

The medic put his hand on Starscream's shoulder, "She's gone. There is nothing we can do to help."

"You're not even trying to help her!" He shrieked at the medic. "HELP HER!"

Another medic sat down by Starscream, "We need to look at your wing. Why don't you come with me-"

"NO!" He screamed grabbed his creator's graying hand. "WAKE UP!! PLEASE! Wake up!! Help's here, please wake up!"

The medic leaned in and tried to assess the damage in his new wing, but Starscream yanked it out of his grasp. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"You need to let me look at your wing," The medic scanned the youngling for any other damage and gasped when he saw the destroyed servos in his hands.

He pleaded with the medic, "Please, help her."

Nebula pushed her way past the medics and grabbed Starscream, sweeping him into her arms and holding him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Starscream…"

He pulled back to look at her, "Make them help her."

"Starscream…"

"I- I didn't-" tears spilled down his energon-stained cheeks, "I didn't- I couldn't- I couldn't protect her." He glanced at his mother-creator's graying form. "I couldn't-"

He buried his head in her shoulder and sobbed in agony. Nebula scooped the anguished youngling up and pulled him away from the medics, rubbing the back of his head and cooing softly into his audios. "It's okay. It's okay, Starscream." She tried to comfort him as best as she could, "Let's go outside so the medics can work."

"Wait. Wait!" He struggled in Nebula's arms, "I need to see her!"

She set him down and he wiggled through the medics who were lifting her body onto a stretcher. He reached out to touch her face, his fingers tracing over her stained lips, "I wanted you to see me fly…"

--

Stealthshadow leaned against the energon-splattered wall of the kitchen watching the still twitching mech on the floor. He smirked wickedly, admiring Starscream's work at beating the slag out of his tormentor.

He stretched his massive wings and checked his chronometer. The medics had left a breem ago, leaving the warrior alone with the gray mech. In a matter of kliks the null-ray blast would wear off and the black and silver flier wanted a few moments alone with the slagger before he put him under citizen's arrest. The looked over the room and scowled. The kitchen table and chairs were covered in dents and there were old energon stains over most of the kitchen. The newest were still dripping slowly down the walls; the older ones still held the faint shimmer of life.

The gray mech groaned as tried to roll on his side.

Stealthshadow pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the fallen mech. He stopped next to his head and leered down at him. "How's the view from down there?"

Red optics flickered as the mech's systems came back online, "Frag you."

The black and silver flier nudged the gray mech's head with his foot, "Tsk. Tsk. That wasn't very polite."

Burning blood red optics glared at him and Stealthshadow smirked maliciously back, "So, I've been wondering what kind of mech beats on femmes and sparklings, and you know what I think?"

The mech just continued to glare at him.

"I think that a mech is a coward."

Red optics flashed in anger, "Frak off. When I get up I'll-"

Stealthshadow snorted loudly, interrupted whatever nonsense the mech was going to say, "When you get up I'm going to slam that ugly face of yours into the wall a few times, just to appease my disgust in having to deal with you, and then I'm going to drag your aft to the Precinct Warden and, hopefully - if we're really lucky, they'll drop your smelted carcass into the darkest hole they can find on Charr." He crouched down next to the gray mech and rubbed his chin, an evil glint filling his green optics. "Or maybe they'll let me play with you for awhile. Drop you off in the middle of the badlands. It's been a looong time since I've hunted. Though, I doubt you'd be much of a challenge, I'm sure I could find you in under a breem."

The gray mech growled and tried to sit up; Stealthshadow shoved him back down. "Or maybe I should just execute you now. Save the Precinct Warden time and energy that would be spent on your sorry aft. Decisions, decisions."

The mech started to laugh, "You're all talk. All you can do is drag me down to the Precinct Warden and I'll get a trial. And even if they convict me, I'll be out of prison in less than ten stellar cycles. Tops. And you want to know what the first thing I'll do when I get out is? I'll find Starscream and-"

Energon bubbled from the surprised gray mech's mouth, effectively silencing him. Stealthshadow stood up and shook the lifeblood from the softly pulsing energy dagger. "Now see what I had to do? You should have just kept your mouth shut and let me drag you off to the Warden. Now I have to call the medics back in and explain to them that you must have bled out from all your wounds." He lifted one of his large feet and stepped on the mech's chest forcing a strangled gurgling noise from his mouth.

"I hear choking on your own energon is one of the worst ways to die. I can't imagine how _awful_ it would feel having your entire system flood with it, freezing your servos in place, watching it bubble up inside your optics as the warnings flash about energy depletion, filling your air filters until you finally suffocate." He ground his heel into the mech's chest. "I _could_ be merciful and end your suffering quickly, but I think I'd rather ramble on about nothing in particular and watch you die a slow and agonizing death. Morbid, I know. But then again, I _am_ doing a service for Iacon's legal system. How many kliks has it been since I severed your main energon line from your fuel pump? I forgot to look. Are your systems flooding yet? Hmm? What? Turbo-fox have your tongue, or are you just being rude again?"

Blood red optics bulged out of the gray mech's faceplate and Stealthshadow leaned in to peer at him. "So what's it like? Any words of wisdom on what dying slowly is like? Come on, now. You were blustering a few kliks ago about silly things like a 'trial' and 'prison time'. No last words for posterity's sake? Well, you're no fun."

There was another sick gurgling sound from the mech as more of his lifeblood bubbled from his mouth. Stealthshadow put more pressure on his chest, "This is boring. And you're not helping time pass by since you're refusing to talk to me. Eh, I don't have the patience anymore to deal with slag like you."

He prodded the mech's chest with his foot, watching as more energon bubbled with his movement. "Oh, wait. Before you go and die on me, I wanted to give you a heads up about your trip to the Pit. You see, the Unmaker has a special section of the Pit just for mechs like you. It would be really dark and scary with all the disembodied screaming, except it's got this huge smelter. It glows with light that burns your optics just to look at. And the smell. I hear the smell is unbearable. All the rotting mechs in the pools of acid. And here's the best part. I hear, now don't quote me on this since it's second hand knowledge, that you go through the same torture every day, it's like a never ending loop in time."

As the gray mech's optics finally started to dim, Stealthshadow slammed his foot into his chest, holding it there until he felt his spark beat stop. He lifted his foot and kicked the mech across the floor, turning away as the body rolled to a stop against the wall. "Say 'hi' to the Unmaker for me."

--

Starscream sat huddled in on himself as a medic worked on the hole in his new wing. People were talking around him, but their voices sounded far away. His optics were unfocused and cast downwards, staring at nothing.

One of the other medics took his hand and started to clean up the crushed servos. The pain must have been unbearable for the youngling, but when she glanced up to look into his face there was no pained expression. No expression at all. "He's gone into shock."

Nebula stood off to one side, her hands on Thundercracker's and Skywarp's shoulders. She knew they were frightened, but she also knew that they should see what had happened, if only to keep from questioning Starscream about this later.

Stealthshadow walked out of the house and down the steps searching the crowd until his optics fell on Nebula's silent vigil. He moved to stand at her side, placing a strong and calming hand on her shoulder, "How is he?"

She shook her head and squeezed the two youngling's shoulders.

He frowned, "Keep me informed? I need to report to the Precinct Warden about this."

Nebula turn to face him, "Why?"

Stealthshadow's faceplate became unreadable. "I have to tell him that the slagger bled out before I could arrest him."

--

Like it? Hate it? Hate me for it? Leave a note.


	13. On A Wing And A Prayer

**A/N:** _It's a frakking long chapter, but it's one that I've had the most fun writing. Kudos and cookies to those who guessed who Nova Alert's sparkling is! Red Alert!  
_

**Synopsis:** Tense moments as we find out Starscream's fate. But don't worry! Help is on the way! Stealthshadow and Nebula try to go through the proper channels while 'Warp and TC take matters into their own hands! Surprise ending! Should the answer be yes? You decide!

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. Stealthshadow, Nebula, and fritzing Nova Alert are my creations. Wraith and Wraith technology also belong to me as well as the story of the Seekers in Cybertronian history.

Primacron is one of the moons named by Fire From Above, much love for your creativity. I named the other moon Devrasigma and I finally came up with a name for Starscream's creator. I wasn't going to give her a name but Moonsong struck me as an appropriate name for her.

A huge Thank You to all my reviewers! I'm sorry I haven't had the time to answer everyone, but I just want you to know that I appreciate each and every one of you who reads, and hopefully enjoys, my story!

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed. Reviews given much love. Stealing is not.

**Chapter 13** – On A Wing And A Prayer

Nova Alert walked into the waiting room with a scowl of pure disgust plastered across her normally calm features. She glanced around the full room looking for the dark blue form of Nebula in the crowd.

The blue femme leapt to her feet upon seeing Nova Alert and rushed through the milling mechs in the waiting room, worry marring her faceplate, "How is he?"

"Please follow me," Nova Alert curtly motioned towards the hospital's main consultation rooms.

Nebula wrung her hands as the doctor ushered her into the room and shut the door. Her fuel pump lurched painfully in her chest. Starscream had lost a lot of energon and was in a near catatonic state on the trip to the hospital. The medics were tight lipped on the way, keeping Nebula in the dark about the youngling's condition. She knew enough from her Guardian Flier training to know he was in bad shape with his brand new wing hanging haphazardly from his body; the laser blast had torn through the newly created servos and severed two secondary energon lines. She had tried to comfort and hold him to reassure the lost looking youngling that she was there and he was not alone, but the medics kept her at bay as they tried to stop the bleeding in his wing and assess the damage done to his hands.

"I don't have to tell you that the Precinct Warden is looking into this matter. Domestic violence is a serious offence -"

"Like slag it is!" Nebula seethed in anger. "This wouldn't have happened at all if the Warden had done something about this when I brought it to his attention twelve stellar cycles ago!"

Nova Alert held up her hands to calm the furious femme, "I realize that this has gone on for quite sometime. There were numerous old scars under his basic protoform, and I informed the Precinct Warden after I finished their reformat this morning."

"And?"

"And the Warden has decided that until the investigation is complete, Starscream is to be placed in a foster setting as soon as we complete his repairs."

"How long will that be? I want to take him home tonight, if possible."

"We should be done shortly, but," Nova Alert crossed her arms over her chest. "He will be placed with an _approved_ foster _family_."

Bright violet optics flared in rage, "I am perfectly able to care for Starscream and it would be better for him if he was in a familiar setting."

Cerulean blue optics gave the irate femme a level stare, "I'm sure you _believe_ that you are capable to take care of the youngling, but he has gone through a very traumatic experience and needs to be with a _family_ that is _experienced_ in taking care of orphaned younglings."

Nebula's voice rose as she glared daggers at the doctor, "Thundercracker and I are his _family_. He has spent more time with us than his own creators!"

"The youngling needs to be in a stable family setting with _two parental caretakers_ who will be able to provide him the best possible recovery."

"Are you insinuating that I can't take care of multiple sparklings because I'm a single creator?" The level and silent look from the white femme answered Nebula's furious question. "I can take better care of him than a squadron of 'parental caretakers'. He trusts me and I know for a fact that he will not respond to whoever you assign his care to."

Nova Alert gave a belabored sigh, "The decision has already been made and the family that will care for him will be here shortly."

Nebula opened and closed her fists rapidly, "Fine. Whom do I talk to so I can get his custody transferred to me?"

The white femme shrugged, "You would need to go through the proper channels with the Warden's office, but I wouldn't bother. Only two creator families are considered for foster care."

"I will go through the _proper_ channels then." Nebula gave Nova Alert a final glare as she opened the door, "Oh. And prepare for Starscream to react badly to being forced to go with unfamiliar mechs."

--

Skywarp and Thundercracker appeared at the door before Nebula had a chance to knock, "Where's 'Screamer?"

She forced a smile for them, "Why don't you two play outside for a bit while I talk to Stealthshadow?"

The questioning look Thundercracker gave her made her spark twist painfully, "Is he still at the hospital?"

The black and silver flier appeared in the doorway and patted the younglings on the shoulders allowing Nebula passage into the house, "Go play for awhile."

Thundercracker and Skywarp watched as the door shut behind them before they turned and looked at each other. The events of today were unreal. It had started out with the excitement of finally getting their wings… then things turned horribly wrong. And now Nebula returned without Starscream.

"Do you think he's dead?"

Thundercracker's optics popped out of his face at Skywarp's question. "What?! No! He's not dead!"

Skywarp looked back at the closed door, "But she didn't tell us where he is…"

Thundercracker turned his attention to the door that, for now, blocked access to the unanswered question.

"Then he's probably still at the hospital. Right?" The black and purple youngling asked the door.

"One way to find out." Thundercracker turned on his comlink, "_Hey, 'Screamer? Where are you?_"

There was no answer.

Skywarp tapped his foot impatiently, trying to push away the twinge of fear that was forming in his fuel pump. "Let me try. _'Screamer? You there?"_

Their comsystem was silent.

"Maybe he's in stasis?" Thundercracker offered the idea as he fought with his own worry.

Skywarp stared at the door, "Maybe."

--

"And then she had the gall to imply that I wasn't an appropriate parental figure for Starscream!" Nebula angrily paced the floor of Stealthshadow's home, ranting about the conversation with Nova Alert. She stopped abruptly and looked at the irate black and silver flier, "What do I do, Stealth? I've already contacted my old wingmate and she said that she would expedite my request, but she also warned me that single creators were not given custody unless they were a family member of the youngling!"

Stealthshadow drummed his fingers on his crossed arms, "There are a few strings I can pull too, but we might be stuck waiting."

"But they're going to put him in a house with strangers! He needs to be with Skywarp and Thundercracker!" She crossed the floor to him and looked up into the emerald green optics with her pleading and impassioned violet ones. "He needs _us_, Stealth."

"I know, Nebula. But even as much as I want to, I cannot just warp in there and take him. We have to abide by what the Warden's office ruled."

Hurt flared in her optics and she glared at him, "You didn't have a problem earlier today with bending the rules."

Stealthshadow's green optics narrowed, "I was about to put him under citizens arrest-"

"But then your energon blade slipped and nicked his main energon line, right? I may not have been among the elite Wraith ranks, but I know exactly what mark an energy stiletto leaves."

He frowned slightly, "Are you going to turn me in for getting rid of that piece of filth? Because he swore he was going after Starscream-"

Nebula's optics flashed from violet to a deep magenta, betraying her turbulent emotional state. She weighed her words carefully and her voice wavered as she tentatively reached out for the black and silver flier, but she pulled her hand back at the last moment. "I want Starscream back, Stealth. And I will do whatever it takes to get him back, but he needs to be with us. Especially now."

Stealthshadow nodded gravely. He did not want to lose the youngling either, but they did not have many options open to them. The black and silver flier sat down at the table and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. There had to be a way to get past the red tape of the Precinct Warden's office quickly. Nebula sat down across from him at the table with a heavy sigh. She was trapped between her creator instinct wanting nothing more than to rush in and get Starscream back and her diminishing patience to wait for the legal system to see the reason behind why the youngling needed to be with her and Thundercracker.

The black and silver flier looked up at her with a small twitch of his lips, "Get up."

Nebula raised an optic ridge at him, "Why?"

Stealthshadow stood from the table and motioned with his right hand for her to stand. "We're going exploring."

"Exploring? At a time like this? Are you out of your mind?!"

He took a hold of her arm and hoisted her gently to her feet. "Yes, but that is neither here nor there. We need to go nose about that house before the authorities clean it out."

She gave him a strange look, but did not shake off his arm. "Why?"

"Remember? She told you to take care of him in case anything happened." Green optics met violet ones with a flicker of hope, "She went _back_ to the house for a reason, maybe she left something behind that would help us claim Starscream's custody."

A tiny smile appeared upon her lips. "She snuck out of the safe house without anyone seeing her leave. But what if she came back to see him with his wings…"

"And what if she didn't? Which means we need to go snoop around for ourselves." Seeing Nebula brighten at the prospect of actively pushing through the red tape brought a smile to his faceplates. "Have you teleported anywhere before?"

"No, why?"

Stealthshadow wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Hold your breath."

--

Thundercracker and Skywarp watched through the window as Nebula and Stealthshadow disappeared.

"Where do you think they're going?" Thundercracker lowered himself off his tiptoes and looked at Skywarp.

"Probably to go get 'Screamer."

A burst of quiet static came over the comsystem, "_'Warp? TC? Are you there?_"

Thundercracker grinned at the black and purple youngling. "_Hey, 'Screamer! Where are you?_"

Starscream whispered over the comlink, "_I'm at the hospital. They are trying to make me go with these strange mechs so I'm hiding. Where is Stealthshadow and Nebula?_"

"_They just left. They're going to get you_."

"_Can you tell them where I'm at so they can find me? I'm in a storage closet on the east side of the fourth floor_."

"_Gimme one klik and I will_," Skywarp closed his end of the comlink and opened the one with his creator.

"'_Screamer is in hiding in a closet on the fourth floor_."

Stealthshadow sounded confused, "_Hiding where?"_

Skywarp gave Thundercracker a puzzled look as the blue flier talked in hushed tones to Starscream. "_At the hospital. He is going to wait for you there, but you better hurry. They're trying to make him go with these strangers._"

There was a pause on the other end. _"… We're not going to the hospital, 'Warp_."

Optic ridges rose in surprise. "_Huh? Why not?_"

There was another pause and Skywarp heard his father-creator circulate air through his intakes, "_We can't go and get him. At least not yet_."

"_But he's there waiting for you…_"

"_Listen to me, 'Warp. We're going to get him back, but we've got to do some stuff first before we can_."

"_Why can't you go now?_"

"_We just can't, okay? Tell Starscream that we're going to get him, but it might take awhile_."

"…_Okay_."

"'_Warp. Tell him to use his training to keep out of sight. Hide in the air ducts if he needs to. And if he can, try to cause as much trouble as he can without getting caught. He has my permission to tear the place apart_." There was a malicious edge to Stealthshadow's voice.

Skywarp reopened his comlink to Starscream and Thundercracker, "_Stealthshadow said to tell you to use your training, 'Screamer. Cause a lot of trouble and don't get caught._"

"…_Okay, are they coming soon?_"

"_They'll be there soon, 'Screamer._"

Thundercracker looked puzzled, "They didn't go to the hospital?"

"No," Skywarp peeked into the window again. "They said they have stuff to do before they can get him." He glanced at Thundercracker, "I hope they do it quickly."

--

Stealthshadow frowned at the dried energon on the walls of the kitchen. He was a top operative in the Wraith and had seen many atrocities in the war, but seeing where the femme's energon splattered and stained the walls made his fuel pump want to rebel and purge its contents.

Nebula knelt over the spot where the red and silver femme had died and whispered a silent prayer to Primus. "_I promised her that we would take care of her sparkling, please help us keep that promise_."

The black and silver flier turned away from the wall and sifted through a stack of holopads on the counter, "We need to hurry up. Starscream is hiding in a closet at the hospital."

"He's hiding?" Nebula stood up and faced him.

"They wanted him to go with strangers and he fled. I told 'Warp to tell him to hide in the air ducts."

"Then we better find what we need quickly." She exited the kitchen and began searching through the living room.

They searched in silence, pouring over the contents of each room and carefully checking over every micron that might hold the key to getting the youngling back. The rooms were in the same shape as the kitchen with furniture sporting numerous dents and dings from being used as weapons. There was no decoration in the house besides the beat up furniture and a tall shelving unit that held numerous data pads. Stealthshadow stood in front of the shelves and let out a low whistle, "This might take a bit." He looked over his shoulder at Nebula, "Feel like a bit of light reading?"

The dark blue femme lifted up a cushion on the beat up couch and found a small wrapped parcel wedged into a ripped seam. Carefully, she extracted the parcel and opened it up, gasping softly at the small stack of holopictures she found. She turned to face the black and silver flier and activated the stills. "Stealth, look at this."

He crossed the small room in two strides and peered at the stills clutched in Nebula's hands. The first picture was red and silver femme smiling for the shot with a tiny red sparkling cradled in her arms. Next one was her holding the sparklings hands as he tottered on unsteady feet. The next was the sparkling holding up a data pad with the Cybertronian alphabet scrawled across it. Another still was of the red and silver femme smiling and sitting cross-legged on the floor hugging the giggling sparkling sitting in her lap with his arms thrown up into the air.

"Anything in there besides the pictures?"

Nebula sighed and stored the holopictures in her subspace pocket, "No, but if she stashed the pictures she might have stashed other things."

"Keep looking." Stealthshadow went back to the shelves with data pads and started pulling each one out. He scanned over the contents of each pad before stowing back in its original spot. The data pads were mostly science texts with a handful of history and major literary works. His search came up empty and he turned to look for his next task.

"We've covered this room, I'm going to go check upstairs." Nebula started up the stairs, her light footfalls making almost no noise.

The black and silver flier frowned and headed back into the gruesome kitchen; he would have preferred to check upstairs. He snooped around the kitchen and made a point to not look at the stained walls. The energon dispenser was broken and the heating coils would not light. There were only two partially filled, stale energon cubes and a handful of damaged cups stashed in the cabinets. Stealthshadow growled to himself, he should have acted sooner and put that slagger down. He opened another row of empty cabinets with a disgusted sigh; he was about to give up and go help Nebula upstairs when he saw the card. It was carefully taped to the underside of the bottom cabinet and if he had not seen the soft reflection, he would have passed right over it. He pulled it from its hiding place and activated the data card. The splash screen for Iacon Investment Union flickered to life with the flashing password prompt. He looked on the other side of the card and under the shelf for a clue as to what the password would be, but found nothing. The black and silver flier glared at the flashing prompt, the hint of a smirk forming at the edge of his lips. He typed in 's-t-a-r-s-c-r-e-a-m' into the card and the credit account opened. He balked at the amount of credits in the account – there was enough to get the youngling through his first nine stellar cycles at the Academy. The femme had been stashing credits away for Starscream's schooling. "Hey, Nebula?"

"You find something?" She called from upstairs.

Stealthshadow closed the data card and stashed that in his subspace, "Yeah! She was saving credits to put 'Screamer through the Academy."

"She wanted the best for him…" Nebula opened the door to a tiny, dark and cramped room and tried the light switch. It had been broken off at the base. She sighed and activated her running lights, sweeping them across the space that was slightly bigger than a storage closet. The lights hit the small berth and two neatly organized stacks of data pads. _This must have been his room_, she thought as she sat down on the small recharge berth. She picked up the top data pad and casually glanced at the title, '_Identifying Alien Technology'_. It was one of the texts Stealthshadow had assigned for homework. She picked up the first pile and stashed it in a subspace pocket and was about to do the same to the other when a flashing light on the bottom data pad caught her attention. She pulled it free from the pile and activated it. The text spilled across its screen, its yellow light highlighting her curious features. Her optics drank in the words as her breath caught in her intakes. She brought the data pad to her chest and bowed her head, _Thank you_.

"Stealth!" She leapt to her feet and ran out of the tiny room and bounded down the stairs, "I found it!"

--

"They're not back yet, 'Warp." Thundercracker sat fidgeting on the top step. He was starting to panic and they had not heard back from Stealthshadow or Starscream since the youngling had entered the air duct system at the hospital. He glanced at the black and purple youngling, "Why haven't they brought him back?"

"I don't know," Skywarp paced back and forth in front of the door growing more agitated by the moment. The wait was killing him and if something didn't happen soon, he swore he was going to burst. Somebody needed to do something. And it needed to be done now. He punched his open palm and stopped pacing. His mind was made up as he yanked the front door open and ran inside.

Thundercracker stared after him in surprise, "Did Stealthshadow tell you anything?"

"No," Skywarp called back at his friend from inside the house.

The dark blue youngling ran into the house, "What are you doing?"

"Taking matters into my own hands." The black and purple youngling appeared with the flat-head spanner and jimmied the lock on the forbidden closet open.

"'Warp! What in the name of Primus-"

"We're going after him, TC." Skywarp opened the door and entered the closet.

"But we'll get in trouble…"

Skywarp stuck his head out the door and glared at Thundercracker, "We haven't heard back from 'Screamer in two joors! You can sit on the steps with your thumb in your mouth like a crying sparkling, but I'm going after my best friend!"

Thundercracker gaped as Skywarp went back inside the closet and started to rummage around. He stood there while his conscience fought with reason. They were not supposed to go in the closet - Stealthshadow made it very clear that it was off limits no matter what. But the hospital was trying to separate them and send Starscream with strangers! Follow the rules or stop them from taking Starscream away. What if he never saw Starscream again? Was that really worth abiding by what Stealthshadow had warned? No. Getting in trouble for going into the forbidden closet was worth the consequences if they could get Starscream back. Rules be slagged! He squared his shoulders and walked purposefully into the closet. He was going to help rescue his best friend! "Do you have a plan, 'Warp?"

The black and purple youngling turned to face his best friend with the most evil and malicious grin Thundercracker had ever seen. "My creator gave 'Screamer permission to cause as much trouble as he could. So we're going to help cause enough trouble to take down the entire hospital!"

"But how?"

Skywarp's grin turned malevolent and he walked over to one of the walls lined with weapons.

Thundercracker's optics popped out of his faceplate. "Wait! Wait, we can't use weapons!"

The black and purple youngling pulled two small guns off the wall and tossed one of them to the dark blue youngling, "Relax. Tazer-darts are legal and only give a mild shock when on the lowest setting." Skywarp activated the magnetic clip on the dart gun and pressed it against his hip. "There are extra dart clips over here, TC. And grab those bags over there. We can use them to hold flash and smoke grenades."

Thundercracker picked up a bag as doubt started to fill his mind about using a weapon on another mech, even if it was just a tazer-dart. "I don't know about this, 'Warp…"

"Don't come then. I can do this by myself."

The dark blue youngling looked at the bag and growled; he had committed himself so far by entering the forbidden room, might as well go all the way. "Where are the flash grenades?"

Skywarp's optics flashed evilly as he pulled a handful of small black satchels out of a crate, "Over there."

"What else do you think we can use?"

The black and purple youngling glanced around the room as he deposited the satchels and smoke grenades in the bags Thundercracker was holding. His optics rested on a lower portion of the wall and he pointed to it, "Those."

Violet optics widened in shock, but Skywarp stopped the youngling from making a fuss, "You've used the training rifle before. And I've stashed a couple boxes of the _special _rounds for the right opportunity to come up, and I think now's the time."

"Special rounds?"

"Yep! My kind of special rounds, too!" He held up a clip filled with the multicolored pellets.

Thundercracker groaned. "Oh, Primus. You're going to get us killed, 'Warp."

"This is war, TC. We can't let them take 'Screamer away." Skywarp dropped six cases worth of 'special' rounds into the bags and then pulled two of the training rifles off the wall.

"How are we going to get to the hospital carrying all of this?" Thundercracker looked blankly at the gun Skywarp handed him.

"We're going to teleport there."

"But you can't even warp between here and my house without getting dizzy!"

"That's why we're going to make small jumps," Skywarp activated the magnetic clip on the rifle and attached it to his shoulder. "Ready?"

"How am I supposed to get there?"

Skywarp grinned mischievously and grabbed Thundercracker's arm, "Like this!"

There was a shocked yelp that cut out as the two younglings disappeared in a flash of purple light.

--

The lights of Iacon danced over the sleek blue flier as she flew side by side with the barely visible black and silver flier. They didn't bother with the traffic lanes, opting for the less crowded lower atmosphere flight as they streaked towards the Precinct Warden's office chambers. Even as Primacron and Devrasigma set in the west and the night grew longer, Nebula and Stealthshadow were undeterred in their quest to bring Starscream home.

"Slaggit! 'Warp won't answer the com." Stealthshadow groused over the link to dark blue femme.

"Neither will Thundercracker. They're probably talking to Starscream over their comsystem."

"Or causing trouble…" The motion detector he had set in his weapon storage room went off. "FRAK! When I get my hands on those two-"

"What? What's happening, Stealth?"

"They're in my storage room."

"In what room?"

Now was not the time to tell Nebula that the younglings were messing around in his room full of Wraith equipment and weapons. "Stuff they shouldn't get into." The lights from the Precinct Warden's office came into view, bathing the lower levels of the Iacon Towers in soft white light giving Stealthshadow the distraction he needed. "We're almost there."

--

Skywarp grunted as he and Thundercracker teleported into the dark protoform reformatting room. The two tottered on their feet fighting to regain their equilibrium from the trip. "Smaller jumps definitely work better."

"I'm going to be sick…" Thundercracker staggered over to a waste receptacle and purged his tanks violently.

"No better place to get sick than a hospital." Skywarp leaned against one of the tables as his balance returned. "Hurry up and lets find him."

Thundercracker opened his comlink, "_'Screamer? Where are you?"_

"_I'm hiding on top of the service elevator. When are Nebula and Stealthshadow going to get here?"_

"_Slag them, 'Screamer." _Skywarp burst over the line, _"We're here to get you out_."

There was a pause before Starscream answered, _"…What do you mean?"_

"_I mean, TC and I are here to get you out."_

"_How?"_

Skywarp had that energon chilling malicious grin again plastered across his faceplate, _"Guerilla warfare, sparkling."_

"_TC? What is he talking about?"_

Thundercracker grinned back at the black and purple youngling as the rush of the upcoming 'battle' hit him, _"Don't worry, 'Screamer. We've got it covered, just stay put."_

Skywarp had already opened the bag and handed Thundercracker a clip full of brightly colored pellets for the practice rifles. "You remember how to load these, _soldier_?"

The dark blue youngling smirked evilly at his friend, "If I remember correctly, my aim is better than yours, _grunt_."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, mech with the most hits wins." Skywarp loaded his rifle and reattached it to his arm.

There was the slight tint of dread in Starscream's voice_, "What do you mean 'with the most hits'?"_

There was a soft click as Thundercracker refitted the tazer-dart gun to his hip, "Wins what?"

"_What are you two doing?"_

Skywarp continued to ignore Starscream. "Five bags of energon goodies that they don't have to share."

"_Hello? What are you two idiots doing?"_

The dark blue youngling palmed three flash grenades and mirrored Skywarp's mischievous smile, "You're on."

--

Nebula and Stealthshadow landed on the front walkway to the Warden's office and were greeted by the night watch. "This is government property and you are trespassing."

Stealthshadow subspaced his military badge for the civilian guards and drew his wings up behind him to emphasize exactly who and what he was. "I need to speak with the Warden immediately."

They backed down slightly at having a Wraith officer demanding admittance. "You'll have to come back in the morning, the Warden has gone home for the night."

Nebula angled herself around the black and silver flier, "Tomorrow is unacceptable. I need to speak to him tonight. Where is his residence?"

"That information is classified-"

Stealthshadow's arms crossed over his cockpit and his voice dropped to an icy tone, "If you can't give her directions to him, then call him here."

"But sir!"

"Open the com and call him. Tell him his old buddy Stealthshadow wants to see him."

The guards shared a 'we-don't-get-paid-enough-for-this-slag' look, but when they turned back at the imposing black and silver flier they were surprised to see two massive Vulcan cannons hanging just below Stealthshadow's strong arms, a mounted dual-barrel null-ray on one arm, a photon rifle with a sniper scope mounted on the opposite shoulder, a gunblade clipped to his left hip and an unknown gun with a silencer on the right. They would swear later that he walked up armed like that, because they never heard any subspace pockets opening.

He gave them an easy and innocent grin with a cold edge to it, "Are you calling the Warden, or not?"

The color drained from the guards' faceplates and one hurried back to the guardhouse where the emergency comsystem was located.

Nebula stepped closer to the smirking Stealthshadow and spoke softly to him, "Was that truly necessary? They could have seen that as a hostile threat and opened fire on us."

He looked over at her with a twinkle in his worldly green optics, "They needed the persuasion that only a high quality weapon can provide. Wouldn't have mattered if they tried to fire on us, anyways. I jammed their pistols the moment we landed."

"Did you need to bring out your entire arsenal to persuade them?"

The black and silver flier turned his attention on the guard who quickly approached them, "This isn't all my arsenal. I just couldn't pick which one of my favorites to show them."

The pale guard stumbled back to the others, his optics never leaving the body of the imposing warrior. "The Warden says he will be here in two breems."

"Should we wait inside for him?" Stealthshadow stepped towards the guards with that easy and innocent grin spreading across his faceplate, "No need to stand outside like civilians waiting for mass transit. I think it would be best to wait inside for him. Don't you agree?"

--

Thundercracker could barely keep his excitement from boiling over, "We need a blueprint of the hospital so we can plan our attack, Air Commander Skywarp!"

The black and purple youngling laughed, "I agree, Air Commander Thundercracker! How are your computer hacking skills?"

"I'm not as well versed in the fine art of hacking as Air Commander Starscream is, but my skills will be sufficient for gathering the information we need, Air Commander Skywarp!"

Starscream sighed loudly over the comsystem, "_You two are complete idiots. They'll detect you the moment you access the mainframe_."

Thundercracker giggled manically as he accessed the protoform reformatting computer and surfed the public directory files. He quickly scanned through the folders until he found what he was looking for, and crowed in satisfaction as he brought up the building evacuation plans on the main screen. "I have procured the plans to the building, Air Commander Skywarp. Shall we commence with 'Operation: Sparkling Rescue'?"

Skywarp burst out laughing hysterically at Thundercracker's official name for their daring rescue. It took him a few moments to calm down enough to hear Starscream swearing at them.

"_Dirty slaggers. You are going to get caught with all the noise you're making._"

The black and purple youngling continued to snicker, "Can you print copies of the map, Air Commander Thundercracker?"

"Already completed, Air Commander Skywarp!"

There was another sigh over the comlink, "_Where are Nebula and Stealthshadow?_"

"Not here." Skywarp took a data pad with the map on it and looked over the area. "Lessee here… There are six service elevators. Which one are you in, 'Screamer?"

"_You're serious about this?"_

"As serious as the Pit. Which elevator, 'Screamer?"

They could hear Starscream cycle air through his intakes, "_Northwest corner… fifth floor. The elevator hasn't moved in over a joor."_

Thundercracker traced a path between the protoform reformatting room and the elevator in question, "It shouldn't be too hard to get to him, but there are nurse stations every 200 yards… six stations between us and that elevator. It will be difficult to get past that many mechs."

"That's why we have the smoke grenades." Skywarp pointed out the main air duct systems. "What if we cut through some of the air ducts?"

"_Wait. You brought smoke grenades? Where did you get those?_"

"Stealthshadow's closet." Thundercracker shook his head and pointed out junctions in the ducts where the systems did not connect. "No go for this area. We'd need to dodge in and out of the air ducts to cross the building."

"_You took smoke grenades from that room?"_

"We're fully armed, 'Screamer." Skywarp counted the number of rooms between them and the elevator, "Too risky to try and find empty rooms and hallways to cross and bypass just to find access to an air duct."

"_What does fully armed mean?"_

"Relax, 'Screamer. We've got it covered."

Thundercracker grinned and pointed to a room in the basement. "That's our first target, Air Commander Skywarp."

"Huh? Why?" He pushed the dark blue youngling's finger out of the way. "'Main Generators'?"

"We create a small short in the lines that lead to the lights in the building. Flickering lights won't cause the backup generators to engage and it won't disrupt any of the medical equipment. Disorient and distract, remember? Easiest way to infiltrate is cause a minor disruption that distracts attention from you."

A maniacal grin spread across Skywarp's face, "I'll teleport down there and cut one of the lines… Aw slag."

Thundercracker raised an optic ridge, "What?"

"I don't have anything to cut with. We need to find a laser scalpel or something for me to use."

The dark blue youngling smirked and reached into his bag of tricks. He rummaged through their tools of havoc and pulled a small handheld device out, proffering it to Skywarp. "I thought we might need this, so I brought it."

The black and purple youngling turned the device over in his hand until he found the activator. Carefully, he pressed the button and the energon dagger flared to life. "You little glitch," Skywarp threw his arm over Thundercracker's shoulders and made a fake sniffing noise. "I am proud to be on 'Operation: Sparkling Rescue' with you, Air Commander Thundercracker!"

Thundercracker snorted and grabbed the dagger from Skywarp's grasp, flicking it off and smacking the magnetic clip on his simpering friend's leg. "I don't know how much of a charge it has since I just picked it up off the shelf, so don't turn it on until you need to use it."

"_What has a charge? What are you two doing?_!"

"Hush, 'Screamer. Let the big 'bots finish their planning."

"We'll need to deactivate the door alarms as well," Thundercracker started to point out the security doors that spread across the entire hospital.

"Wouldn't it be easier to activate a few of them? Keep the staff chasing their tails?"

"No," The dark blue flier shook his head. "Then they'll know something is up and be on the look out."

"True. So I'll take out the door controls, too."

Starscream's patience was worn out, "_Here's a question for you two, glitchmice. Just how are we going to get out of here? Why can't we wait for Nebula and Stealthshadow?"_

Skywarp let loose a martyred sigh, "Because they said they can't until they do some stuff. All right?"

"_What stuff?"_

"They didn't tell me what. Now shut up, 'Screamer."

"Okay, ' Warp," Thundercracker pointed to four different rooms on the map. "While you're taking out the lights, I'm going to the ventilation fans and setting off the smoke grenades. That should give us some cover so we can get to 'Screamer."

"Sounds good." Skywarp pulled a small black satchel from his bag and handed it to Thundercracker, "I can teleport out of sight, but you can use these to escape if someone sees you."

"What are they?" The dark blue youngling opened the satchel and peered inside.

"Marbles. The bags are designed to burst when thrown on the ground. Just toss it behind you and run." Skywarp shouldered his bag and held out his hand to Thundercracker. "Ready when you are, Air Commander Thundercracker!"

He stood up and held his hand out to the black and purple youngling, "Good hunting, Air Commander Skywarp!"

"Let 'Operation: Sparkling Rescue' begin!"

"_You two are insane…"_

--

Nebula sat nervously in the Precinct Warden's office, reading and rereading the notarized data pad that held Moonsong's will. _I never knew your name until now_…

The night watch guards didn't perceive her as any sort of threat… unlike the heavily armed black and silver Wraith leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and his optics dim.

Stealthshadow did not need his optics to tell what was happening in the room. He could hear the uneasiness of the night watch; irregular spark beats, churning fuel pumps, the creaks and whines of tight and tense servos… But he paid them no mind; their distress was easily tuned out. He was more interested in the dark blue femme. He could hear her fingers sliding over the data pad as she reread the contents for the 90th time, her racing spark beat, the strong pulse of her fuel pump, the tightness in the way she was cycling air through her intakes. She was more than nervous – and he could smell the fear coming off her in waves.

"_You should relax. You're scaring the guards,"_ He smirked over the comlink he established with her.

"_I think they're more worried about losing their jobs because you forced our way in here,"_ She did not flinch at his sudden intrusion. "_And don't you know it's rude to hack into another mech's comsystem?"_

He could feel her optics on him and he smiled, "_It's not a hack…technically. I just extended the range of my communication frequency to include any nearby Guardian Fliers. You happen to be the closest."_

"_A _retired_ Guardian Flier. Nice try, though."_

"_Don't worry. Everything will be fine once Convoy sees the will." _He heard her hands tighten on the data pad.

"_What if they still won't give him to us? What if they-"_

He raised his optics and gave her a pointed glare, _"Everything will be fine. We will get him back._"

"_But…"_

"_None of that,"_ He flicked his optics towards the door as he heard the front gates open. _"He's here._"

Nebula stood up quickly as the night guards ushered the Warden into his office.

"We should call the Guardian Fliers -"

"- heavily armed-"

"-practically forced his way in-"

"-should we call for backup?"

Stealthshadow winked at Nebula and he pushed himself off the wall as the imposing blue and red mech entered the room, "Convoy! Long time no see- wait. Who the slag are you?"

The young mech crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Stealthshadow, "I'm the Precinct Warden, Ultra Magnus."

"Where the slag is Convoy?"

Ultra Magnus looked annoyed, "He's now Arbiter Convoy. Is there something I can help you with?"

Nebula stepped forward and held out the data pad to the large mech, "We need your help to get our sparkling released from social services at the Iacon Medical Facilities."

Any trace of annoyance fled from the new Warden's faceplate as he took the data pad, "Why is your sparkling with social services?"

"Well, he's not 'ours'. But his custody was given to us by his late mother," Stealthshadow pointed to the data pad. "She was killed today by her mate."

Ultra Magnus looked at the data pad with a slight frown, "I heard about that earlier. The sparkling is okay?"

"He is," The worry Nebula had exhibited previously disappeared as her fierce creator instinct took over. "But social services want to put him with a foster family when he really needs to be in a familiar setting with us."

"I see," He read over the contents of the data pad. "Well, everything seems to be in order on Moonsong's will… notarized by Barrister Hightower. He was just raised from Counselor less than a deca-cycle ago, at least that tells me this isn't forged."

"Forged?" Stealthshadow stepped up to the Warden and jabbed at the data pad. "You think we forged this?"

"This is about a sparkling's well-being here." Ultra Magnus gave the black and silver flier a level look, "I can't just turn over custody of a sparkling to an armed mech who shows up at my office in the middle of the night."

Nebula calmly sidestepped Stealthshadow, "It's not forged. If you are worried about the legitimacy of the document, then please call the Barrister and verify his signature. I want everyone to realize that we care very much for Starscream and his well-being."

The Warden looked at the blue femme as if he was weighing her character mentally, "I believe you. Let me contact social services and we -"

One of the guards rushed in. "Sir? We've just gotten word that a fire has been reported at the Iacon Medical Facility."

Stealthshadow rubbed his forehead and shuttered his optics with a groan.

Nebula grabbed his arm, "What did you-"

The black and silver flier held his hands up in defense, "I only told him to cause some trouble. Not to set the place on fire!"

--

Thundercracker crawled away from the ventilation fan as fast as he could. He learned the hard way with the first fan that setting off smoke grenades while standing in front of it was a bad idea. He gave a cursory sweep of the room before he exited the air duct. "_Phase one of 'Operation: Sparkling Rescue' is complete, Air Commander Skywarp!_"

The lights were flickering erratically as he slipped to the door and peeked out into the hallway. There were alarmed voices coming from the north and he could hear footsteps as mechs ran down the hallway in search of the fire. "_'Warp? You okay_?"

"_The energon blade died. I only got some of the door alarms disabled_."

"_One's by the service elevators_?"

The soft swish sound of Skywarp teleporting echoed over the comlink, "_They weren't marked. I started at one end and it died around the middle_."

"_I hear alarms coming from somewhere_." Starscream had stopped telling his friends that they were insane and was now expecting them to get him off the top of the elevator any moment.

"_Hopefully 'Warp got rid of the alarms right by you, 'Screamer_." The footsteps were getting closer to Thundercracker as a huge puff of smoke billowed into the room. "_Aw slag_."

"_What's wrong, TC?"_

"_Trying out the marbles_." He darted out into the smoky hallway and threw the black satchel on the ground, which exploded into a rolling mass of silver bearings. Without looking back, Thundercracker took off in the opposite direction with the tazer-dart gun in his hand. So far he had not used it, and he hoped it would stay that way. He skidded to a stop just before another nurse station that was still manned; the mechs were preoccupied with the fire alarms and the flickering lights. He pulled out another smoke grenade and rolled it under the nearest desk. It ignited and a roiling mass of gray fog spilled into the area. Thundercracker ducked and ran past the confused mechs. He found a lift to the next floor and got in, flattening himself against the wall and punching the 'up' button. "_I'm in the southern elevator heading up to the fifth floor. Where are you, 'Warp?_"

"_Back at the protoform room. The smoke hasn't reached here yet_."

The elevator came to a stop and the door slowly slid open. The blue youngling peeked out into the hall; it was empty but there were panicked voices somewhere nearby. "_Are you going to run for it?"_

"_Exiting and running now_!"

Thundercracker eased out into the hallway, his optics wide and scanning constantly for any movement. He readied another smoke grenade, "_I'm heading to you now, 'Screamer_."

Skywarp roared over the comlink. Gunshots followed close behind.

"'_WARP!"_

The black and purple youngling's raucous laughter drowned out Thundercracker's worry. "_Nailed him right between the optics! One hit for me, TC. How many have you got, Huh? HUH?!"_

"_You're slaggin' crazy, 'Warp._"

"_Energon goodies. Don't forget, TC_."

"_Just hurry and get up here_." The blue youngling crept along the hallway, dodging in and out of the shadows.

"_BWAHAHA! In the aft! I shot him IN THE AFT!" _Skywarp cackled madly_, "He never saw it coming_!"

"Hey!" Thundercracker froze. "Where do you think you're going? AHHHHH!!"

The red and white mech that had been striding up behind him now twitched fitfully on the ground. Thundercracker nearly dropped the tazer-dart gun as he backed away from the mech he had shot. He had forgotten to turn down the setting. Skywarp's mad laughing shook him out of his stupor, and he spun and ran down the hallway.

"_You guys should have seen it! That guy will be cleaning paint out of his mouth for joors!"_ Skywarp giggled manically.

"'_Warp! Make sure you turn down the setting on the dart gun._"

"_I did. Why?"_ The black and purple youngling gasped loudly. "_You shot someone with a tazer-dart at full strength?!"_

"_Yes. I mean, no. It was at half. But it knocked him down_."

"_Was he out cold, TC? Because you can really damage an unarmored mech_-" Starscream began to lecture.

"_I KNOW! I KNOW!"_ Thundercracker dodged into a supply closet just as more mechs came barreling through the hallway. "_He had some armor on and people are running in his direction now_."

"_Now you don't see me_." Skywarp was up to something… "_Now you don't see anything at all!"_

"'_Warp_!"

"_I took out a whole line of mechs with a flash grenade. Their optics won't work for breems_!"

"_Will you quit playing and get up here_!"

"_You have all of these toys at your disposal and you won't even try to have some fun_?"

Starscream huffed loudly, "_The elevator shaft is starting to fill with smoke_."

"_I'm almost there, 'Screamer_." Thundercracker peeked out into the hallway only to duck back inside as another wave of mechs ran past.

"_About time_." He sighed in annoyance.

There was a loud 'FWOOSH' sound and Skywarp cackled over the comsystem in glee. "_Fire suppression systems are fun_!"

"_SKYWARP!_"

"_I'm keeping them occupied, TC_!"

"_Fine! I'll get 'Screamer by myself_." The blue youngling promised himself that he would kick Skywarp's aft once this was over.

A martyred sigh escaped Starscream, "_And how are we going to get out of here?_"

"_Easy. I'm going to teleport you out, then come back for TC_."

Another belabored sigh, "_And how are you going to get to us if you're 'keeping them busy', 'Warp_?"

Skywarp's laughter died. "_… I'm on my way."_

Thundercracker slunk out of the closet and edged down the hallway, making doubly sure that no one else would sneak up behind him again.

Shots echoed over Skywarp's end of the line with minimal laughter from him. "_Fourth floor, east side. I'm almost there. Why didn't you take out more of these mechs, TC?_"

"_Well, lets see here. I know!"_ He sneered over the comlink, "_Because I have to run like a normal mech since I can't teleport all over the place_!"

"_Pfft! You could have at least _tried_ to take out some of them_."

"_We're here to get 'Screamer, remember_?" The doorway to the service elevator was down the hallway to the right. "_Hurry up and get here_."

Skywarp appeared in a flash of purple grinning manically. "BOO!"

Thundercracker jumped backwards and put his hand over his spark, "Don't do that!"

The black and purple youngling stuck his tongue out at him.

"_The elevator is moving! Where are you two?!"_

They ran down the hallway and opened the security door that led to the elevator. "_We're here!"_

Skywarp pounded on the 'up' button. "Come on, come on, come on!"

They heard the lift lurch to a stop, but the doors did not open. "What the slag?"

"_It's stopped between floors_!"

There was noise behind them in the hallway and both younglings swung around to see multiple light beams trying to pierce the smoke. They looked at each other with wide optics. They couldn't get caught now. Not when they were so close to completing their mission!

Skywarp reached into his bag and started pulling grenades out. "Everything into the hallway! Marbles! Grenades! Everything!"

The two younglings bombarded the hallway with everything and Skywarp even got the fire suppression system to activate. Thundercracker started punching the button again trying to get the elevator back to their level, but it did not budge.

"_Try opening the doors_."

They wedged their fingers into the crack between the doors and pulled, forcing the reluctant doors open with a moan of old, worn pulleys. The elevator stayed where it had stopped, and as Skywarp and Thundercracker peered over the edge, they realized just how far down it had fallen.

They could see Starscream's violet optics in the dim light from somewhere near the ground floor.

Skywarp groaned, "Aw slag! You're down at the basement, 'Screamer!"

Thundercracker glared at the black and purple youngling, "Just teleport down there and get him, 'Warp."

"Would have been easier if the elevator worked." There was a purple flash…

But Skywarp remained exactly where he was.

The two younglings stared at each other blankly. "Uh, you're supposed to be down there with 'Screamer, 'Warp."

"I know."

Thundercracker frowned, "Then why aren't you?"

"I don't know." There was another purple flash, but it was much weaker than the last and Skywarp was still on the landing next to Thundercracker. His optics widened as he tried again, and again, and again until he stood there panting in exhaustion.

Thundercracker just stared at him in disbelief. "We are so slagged."

Starscream's thin voice echoed up the elevator shaft. "What's wrong?"

Skywarp slumped to the floor, "We're really, really slagged."

"'Warp is too exhausted to teleport," Thundercracker called down to the violet optics in the dark. He heard Starscream sit down on the elevator dejectedly and whimper. How had things gotten this bad?

A beam of light penetrated the smoke behind him and illuminated the elevator shaft and he froze. Skywarp glanced behind him and sighed heavily. "Oh we are beyond slagged. We are so frakking slagged. I mean, frakked beyond being fragging slagged. Fragged, slagged… we are in so much trouble."

Thundercracker kicked the black and purple youngling. "We should have waited for Stealthshadow!"

"Have you noticed that he still isn't here?!" Skywarp spat at him, "We'd still be at my place waiting for them to show up and 'Screamer would still be stuck on top of the elevator!"

"If you hadn't goofed off so much, he wouldn't be stuck on the elevator!"

"I don't see you doing anything to help that situation!"

Thundercracker growled at Skywarp, threatening to kick him again, but stopped and glared into the slowly dispersing fog. They were trapped and Skywarp was right. He hadn't contributed much to their attempted rescue other than help wear out Skywarp's teleportation ability. Thundercracker slid down the wall to the floor and let his head fall back with a thump. His thought about how much trouble he was going to be in when mother-creator found out about this as he watched the smoke travel along the ceiling and into the elevator shaft. The thick wisps and curls of smoke were being pulled into the shaft as if being drawn by something…

Thundercracker leaned over the edge of the platform and looked up.

A metal grate hung over the elevator shaft with Cybertron's open night skies just beyond it.

He sighed. They were so close to freedom. If Skywarp could still teleport, they could leave through the grate…

There were more light beams coming through the thinning smoke. They would be caught any moment and Starscream would be sent away with the strange people. This would not have happened if they were Guardian Fliers. No Air Commander would have been caught trapped between enemies and an elevator shaft that led to freedom. They just would have flown away…

Thundercracker slowly stood up and released the magnetic clip that held the tazer-dart gun to his waist. He held it out to Skywarp, "'Warp. Shut the door and overload the electrical lock."

"Huh?" Skywarp looked up at the dark blue youngling, "Why? That's not going to stop them."

Thundercracker peered down the shaft again, "Just do it, okay?"

"It's hopeless, TC! We're trapped!"

Heated violet optics bore holes into the black and purple youngling. "DO IT!"

Skywarp got to his knees and crawled over to the door, "Fine. But it's not going to -"

There was a choked sputtering and the landing lit up with an orange glow.

Skywarp spun around as the door shut and gaped at the dark blue youngling who stood on the edge of the landing. "What the-?"

Thundercracker looked up and grinned at his friend. "Jam the door."

"Are you slagging insane?!"

"I have to be. I'm your best friend." He stepped backwards into the elevator shaft.

Skywarp lunged for Thundercracker, but he was gone. He leaned over the edge of the landing and watched in awe as the soft orange glow of unused thrusters filled the shaft.

The glow from above made Starscream look up and he gaped at the sight of Thundercracker slowly descending, his thrusters spluttering and coughing as the youngling concentrated on lowering himself.

"Primus, TC." Starscream stood up and laughed as the dark blue youngling landed awkwardly. "You're going to get stuck down here with me."

Thundercracker grinned wildly, "No, I'm not. If I can do this, so can you."

The red and silver youngling looked sadly at his friend, "I don't think I can."

The dark blue youngling activated his thrusters again and bobbed unsteadily in the air for a moment. "Just concentrate. You can do it."

Starscream frowned and shuttered his optics. One thruster spluttered to life knocking him off balance before the other engaged. He wobbled as he slowly lifted into the air. He opened his optics and giggled, swaying back in forth just above the roof of the elevator. The red and silver youngling looked up at Thundercracker with a wide smile.

"See?" The dark blue youngling smiled, "You're doing it!"

"Yeah!" He laughed and pushed himself higher into the air.

Thundercracker looked up at the still gaping Skywarp. "Did you jam the door?"

"Uh-oh."

His head snapped back to Starscream as his thrusters sputtered and went out, dropping the youngling on his aft back on top of the elevator.

Starscream sagged visibly and shook his head, "I'm too tired."

Two black hands picked him up under his arms and lifted him up off the ground. Starscream looked up at Thundercracker as he engaged his thrusters and lifted both of them off the elevator. "We're going to fall!"

The dark blue youngling smirked at his friend, "No, we're not." He looked back up at Skywarp, "Jam the door!"

The black and purple youngling's head disappeared and there were multiple shots from the tazer-dart gun, "I think I got it!"

Thundercracker carefully lifted Starscream to the landing and set him down. Skywarp threw his arms around the red and silver youngling's neck and hugged him tightly. "We rescued you!" He let go looking embarrassed, "Uh, TC was worried about you."

Starscream laughed and hugged both of the younglings, "I missed you guys, too."

The voices of angry and upset mechs pounding at the door interrupted their reunion.

Skywarp looked at the door, "How are we going to get out of here?"

"Up through the elevator shaft." Thundercracker reached around to grab Starscream by the arms again.

"I'm too tired to teleport, I don't think I can try and fly." Skywarp looked at them worriedly, "And what if I fall?"

"You're going to grab on to me and I'll carry you out."

The door shook from the pounding and Skywarp glanced between his friends and the weakening door. "But you're not going to have time to make two trips!"

"We're leaving all at once." Thundercracker was unusually calm, "You'll ride piggyback and I'll carry 'Screamer."

Starscream looked between his friends, "Are you sure you can do this, TC? That's a lot of weight to carry."

The dark blue youngling backed up to Skywarp so he could climb on, "Trust me. I know I can do this."

The door groaned on its hinges as Skywarp wrapped his arms around Thundercracker's neck. Starscream grabbed on to the dark blue youngling and held on tightly. He edged them off the landing and into the elevator shaft, and slowly they floated up to the metal grate. It took them a few kliks to reach their destination, all the while Thundercracker's balance improved and he quickly learned how to adjust his thrusters to keep them moving at a constant rate.

They stopped right below the grate and Skywarp reached up to push it open. It would not move so he made a fist and pounded it, shaking the trio as Thundercracker hovered.

Starscream pointed up, "It's bolted on to the shaft."

"Do you still have that energon dagger, 'Warp?"

"Yeah, but I used up the charge trying to cut the door alarms."

"See if it has any residual charge left," Starscream turned his head to look up at the others. "Sometimes energy based weapons regenerate a charge."

Skywarp fumbled for the magnetic clip on the blade, "Almost got it. Oops."

The energon dagger clinked and clattered on its fall to the bottom of the shaft.

All three sighed at once.

Thundercracker craned his head to peer at the black and purple youngling, "You bring anything else that we might be able to use, 'Warp?"

"Not that can cut through bolts."

"I have an idea," Starscream looked up at the others. "But it will depend on if TC can do it."

"Depends on what it is."

"Think you can channel a sonic boom at the grate?"

Thundercracker looked up at the grate. It was fairly thick metal and he never used his talent to destroy anything. Creating sonic booms was supposed to help his flying skills later on.

"Sound waves can be used to destroy and weaken materials. It's the reason why you're not supposed to cause a boom inside city limits, TC." Starscream seemed to read his mind, "And we've seen you destroy grease from the guns, remember? All you should need to do is try and concentrate on sending the wave up."

Skywarp leaned over his should to peer at the red and silver youngling, "Uh, won't that destroy our audio receptors, 'Screamer?"

"It will hurt like slag, but it won't destroy them. Or I don't think it would."

The black and purple youngling groaned, "Eh, do it, TC. If we can't hear afterwards that will make it easier on us when Stealthshadow tries to lecture."

Thundercracker circled air through his intakes slowly, "I'll try it. Just… hang on tight."

He stared at the grate as he felt the rumble start at his feet. _Force the boom up. Force the boom up. _

The shaft began to shake as the mechs finally broke down the door on the fifth level. They were given less than a nano-klik to look around before the sonic boom hit them, throwing them back into the hallway they just exited and leaving their audio receptors ringing.

If they had been able to hear anything at all, they might have faintly heard the voice of a black and purple youngling screaming 'WOOO-HOOO!' at the top of his intakes.

--

Nebula, Stealthshadow and Ultra Magnus arrived at the Iacon Medical Facilities at the same time. Smoke was billowing out the front doors while the lights inside flickered on and off at random intervals. Doctors, nurses and patients stood outside looking disoriented and bewildered; most had traces of fire suppression foam on them and a few lucky ones sported bright splotches of paint.

Nebula turned to glare at Stealthshadow who shrugged innocently.

A very frazzled Nova Alert stalked up to the group glaring daggers at the fliers, "YOU! This is all your fault!"

"Excuse me, uh, doctor-?" Ultra Magnus held his hand out to the angry femme that sported a bright purple paint splotch across her chassis.

"Alert. Nova Alert." She spat at the group. "I want these people arrested and locked up, Warden! Look what their sparklings did to my hospital!"

"Sparklings?" Ultra Magnus looked at the two fliers, "I thought there was just one sparkling in question here."

Stealthshadow valiantly tried to keep from grinning.

Nebula ignored him and tried to get the fritzing doctor to talk to her, "Where are they now?"

"They're holed up on the fifth floor. Security will have them in custody any klik now." Nova Alert stood under Ultra Magnus' nose and jabbed a finger into his chest. "I want them locked up. Do you hear me? I want them put away and their sparklings removed from their custody!"

The imposing blue and red mech spoke calmly to the angry femme. "Actually, I'd like you to release the sparkling known as 'Starscream' to their custody."

The flustered doctor balked, her cerulean blue optics nearly popping out of her faceplate. "Y-You- you can't be _serious!_ They are unfit parents! Look- Just look at my hospital! This will take deca-cycles to repair!"

"Well, when the sparklings are caught we will discuss punishment and punitive damages." The Warden tried to placate the fritzing doctor.

It did not seem to calm Nova Alert at all. "And the sparklings? You cannot have younglings like these running about Iacon with no supervision!"

Stealthshadow cleared his throat, "I know for a fact that my sparklings, Skywarp and Thundercracker, are at home watching scary movies, and that they are both waiting impatiently for us to bring Starscream home."

The white and purple-splotched femme fell on the black and silver flier snarling. "You're lying! Both of you are single creators! Just look what happens to sparklings when they are raised in single creator situations! They destroy hospitals! MY HOSPITAL!"

Nebula put her hands on her hips and glared at the fritzing doctor, "Thundercracker does NOT destroy anything. I raised him better than that and I'll raise Starscream the same way!"

Nova Alert turned back to Ultra Magnus, "You can't let her take custody of the sparkling! She's not approved to be a foster parent!"

"I have the notarized last will and testament from Starscream's creator, Moonsong, stating that upon her death custody of her sparkling goes to Nebula." The blue and red mech held the data pad out for the femme to see.

"That doesn't matter! By **law,** custody of orphaned sparklings goes to the state or an approved **family**!" The femme jabbed her finger at Nebula, "She's a single creator and SHE DOESN'T HAVE STATE APPROVAL!"

Stealthshadow stepped in front of Nova Alert, "You're really hung up on this single creator thing, aren't you?"

The femme spluttered, "And you're no better! Look at you walking around **armed**! Weapons! In this day and age! You can't wandered around Cybertron like that! What kind of **role model** are you to those sparklings?!"

The black and silver flier held his arms out and all the weapons were instantly subspaced, "Is that better?"

Nova Alert just glared at him.

A wicked smile brushed across his faceplate and he winked at the angry femme. He turned around to Nebula and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in both of his. "Wanna get bonded?"

Poor Ultra Magnus stood by watching the scene unfold. The doctor looked like she was on the verge of murdering the mech and femme who had interrupted his quiet evening with the urgent request to get the sparkling, who with his cohorts, had now done serious damage to Iacon Medical Facility. He realized now why his predecessor, Convoy, wanted out of this job so badly.

Nebula stared at Stealthshadow completely knocked off-guard by his sudden, and slightly crass, proposal. "I-"

The entire area rocked with an audio-splitting sonic boom that sent mechs shrieking in all directions.

Stealthshadow did not flinch as he smiled expectantly at the still stunned Nebula.

Ultra Magnus cringed with his hands over his audio receptors. This job did not pay enough for this. As the aftershocks died down, the Warden stood up to his full height and held out the data pad to Stealthshadow, "By the power vested in me, I grant full custody of the sparkling known as Starscream to both of you."

Nova Alert fell backward on her aft with a slightly crazed look slowly spreading over her features. Her com buzzed with the strained and tired voice of a security guard. "We lost him, Nova."

She shook her head to clear it, "You didn't catch any of them?"

"Them?" There was residual static over the line. "We were only chasing the one. The guard that was attacked identified the mech as a blue and black adolescent with a tazer and a paint ball rifle. Just a bored hoodlum, if you ask me. There was no fire; smoke came from grenades in the ventilation system. Besides the sonic boom, there is minimal damage from the paint and fire suppressant foam."

Nova Alert slumped forward in defeat. She raised a quaking hand and waved aimlessly at the still kneeling Stealthshadow and surprised Nebula. "Just… go away. I don't care any more. Just take your sparkling and leave my hospital."

"If there is nothing else you need me for, I'm going to try and salvage my evening." Ultra Magnus nodded farewell to the odd flier couple. "If you need to file a damage report, doctor, just have it sent to my office. No need for you to stress yourself out further."

The white and purple-splotched femme waved off the Warden, who transformed and left the area quickly.

Nebula just stared at the black and silver flier, "Stealth, I…"

"Look up."

"Huh?"

He cast his worldly green optics to the sky above them and she followed his gaze, gasping at the amazing sight.

Thundercracker was flying high above them, his dark blue wings spread out proudly. Starscream and Skywarp were hanging on to his back and gazing down at the street below them and they waved when they caught sight of Nebula and Stealthshadow.

The dark blue femme laughed with tears in her optics and wave back at them.

Stealthshadow stood up and pulled her close to him. He smiled at her when she looked up into his face, "Looks like we've got sparklings to go home to."

--

Love it? Hate it? Should Nebula say yes? Let me know!!


	14. Grounded

_A/N: I know it's been way too long since I updated this, but here it is. It's dark and not what everyone is expecting, but it will get better. More notes at the end._

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. Stealthshadow and Nebula are my creations. Wraith and Wraith technology also belong to me as well as the story of the Seekers in Cybertronian history. Transformers belong to other (Has/Tak) and they don't share.

A huge Thank You to all my reviewers! I'm sorry I haven't had the time to answer everyone, but I just want you to know that I appreciate each and every one of you who reads, and hopefully enjoys, my story!

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed. Reviews given much love. Stealing is not.

**Chapter 14** – Grounded

"What did I tell you about flying by yourself?" A furious Nebula loomed dangerously over the three younglings; they had been caught disobeying the strict rules on flying she had set up for them.

Again.

Thundercracker looked abashedly at the floor as he felt her heated gaze on him. "You said we weren't to fly without you or Stealthshadow watching us."

"And how many times do I need to say it before you listen to me? It's reckless and dangerous for you to fly off the practice fields by yourselves. What happens if you lose control and crash? Or worse what if you crash into someone else?"

Skywarp glanced up at the irate femme, "But how are we going to get better if we don't practice off the field?"

Nebula's withering glare made Skywarp squeak and quickly backpedal into Starscream's wings. "You're getting plenty of practice _on_ the field right now. You already have more experience from training than sixth-cycle students. But if you three continue to disobey me, I will stop all practices and you will have to wait until the Academy. Do I make myself clear?"

Three heads bobbed in unison. She had made threats about cutting back practices before when she caught them flying above the neighborhood and attacking each other with their grease guns, but stopping practices altogether was a new and more serious threat.

The sleek blue femme jabbed her finger at the door, "Stealthshadow is waiting for you at the recreation center. I have already told him why you are late and he is **not** pleased, so you better march your afts over there right now."

The younglings bolted for the door, pushing and shoving each other to get away from Nebula's angry glare; they would rather face the Unmaker himself than another lecture from the femme. Even Stealthshadow's punishments of running the obstacle course until they passed out and overloaded homework assignments paled in comparison to the ferocity behind her icy glare and the new threat. The trio did not stop running until they were clear of the neighborhood.

Skywarp turned to look for any sign of Nebula, grinning when he saw no trace of the dark blue femme. "She went back inside."

Starscream trudged heavily alongside the reticent Thundercracker, "Do you think she'll really stop practices?"

"I don't want to find out if she will." Thundercracker glanced over at his best friend, "The thought of having to wait-" He was interrupted mid sentence by the sound of thrusters coming online behind him.

Both younglings swung around immediately and stared at the mischievously smirking Skywarp who hovered a few feet above the street behind them. "Come on. I'll race you there- ACK!"

Blue and black hands lunged forwards and yanked on his wings, pulling Skywarp out of the air and onto the sidewalk. "Are you INSANE? She just told us that if we get caught flying again she'd stop practices!"

Skywarp stood up and shook his head grinning. "See? Once again you two sparklings are missing the main idea here. She said 'if we get caught'. All we have to do is avoid getting caught."

Thundercracker rounded on Skywarp, "We've been caught seven times!"

The black and purple youngling threw his arms around the shoulders of the other two and herded them down the street. "But we weren't caught the other twenty-nine times!"

Starscream let a sigh cycle from his intakes. "You are the biggest idiot in the world, 'Warp."

"But you still love me."

"That's debatable with as much trouble as you get us in." Thundercracker shook his head, "They don't start flight training at the Academy until fourth decamester, right 'Screamer?"

"Yeah." The red and silver youngling glanced at Thundercracker, "I don't think I can wait that long before I can fly again."

"Me neither."

"Don't worry about it." Skywarp patted both of them on the back, "She won't carry through with the threat. She loves us and is so proud of how well we're doing she won't ground us."

Starscream turned to glare at Skywarp. "Did it ever occur to you that the reason why she'll ground us is because she loves us and worries that we'll end up hurt, 'Warp?"

The black and purple youngling put his hands on his hips in mock irritation, "Has it ever occurred to _you_ that we haven't even scratched a wing tip while flying, 'Screamer?"

"Just because we haven't had an accident yet, doesn't mean we won't in the future." Thundercracker scrubbed a hand over his face. "How about we not test her threat so we can keep flying? Think we can at least accomplish that?"

"You two are such glitch-mice," Skywarp shook his head with a sigh. "Anyways, since we're late to training, why don't we take the shortcut?"

Two sets of hostile violet optics glared at him, "No."

"Aw, come on! It's just a boost up there." He pointed to the rooftops.

"No!"

"You two are no fun anymore." A martyred sigh escaped from his lips, "Oh, well! See you at the center!"

"SKYWARP!" Thundercracker and Starscream cried in unison as the black and purple youngling leapt into the air and activated his anti-gravs.

The youngling zigzagged his way to the top of the building they stood in front of and he hovered just above the roof before gracefully touching down and waving at them. "I'll race you there!"

"GET DOWN HERE BEFORE SOMEONE SEES YOU!"

Skywarp put a hand to his audio receptor with a leering grin spreading over his faceplate, "Hmm? What was that? I can't hear you! You'll have to come up here if you want to talk!"

"He's going to get us into so much trouble." Thundercracker moaned and put his face in his hands. "We'll have to take the stupid basic courses at the Academy with all the new sparklings and never get any real practice again."

"Maybe they'll just ground 'Warp. We're not the ones disobeying this time." Starscream offered optimistically.

Thundercracker shot a dark glare at his friend, "They'll say we didn't try to stop him and we'll STILL get busted!"

They watched Skywarp dance dangerously along the edges of the building, skipping to the next rooftop with a short burst of power from his thrusters. The black and purple youngling waved at the others then proceeded to turn a handful of cartwheels on the ledge of the building. His antics had Thundercracker running parallel along the street just to keep up with him. "He's going to fall if he's not careful!"

Skywarp leapt into the air, somersaulting nimbly to the next ledge and landing on one foot. Starscream watched the black and purple youngling insane antics; he made them look so easy and so… inviting. It wasn't that far to the recreation center, and it would be faster if they traveled above the crowds. And it wasn't like they were actually flying… Starscream ran a few steps before igniting his thrusters and soaring effortlessly up to the rooftop. "Hey 'Warp! Wait up!"

"STARSCREAM!" Thundercracker gaped at him from the sidewalk. Now both of his friends were dooming him to losing his flying privileges. He hung his head and sighed deeply. Even if he was the only one obeying Nebula's strict orders, he would still get in as much trouble as they would. With a weighty conscience, he activated his anti-gravs and lifted off the pavement. Might as well enjoy his last flight before he was grounded forever.

Skywarp had stopped for the others to catch up to him and he grinned manically at being able to convince his friends to have some fun. He did a series of handsprings across the rooftop as soon as Starscream had reached him. The red and silver youngling giggled nervously with heady amusement at disobeying the rules; he could not help but feel so _free_ and _alive_ in all the wanton excitement.

Thundercracker trotted up to them scowling, "I'm going to kill you if you get us in trouble, 'Warp."

"Trust me! We're not going to get in trouble."

Thundercracker crossed his arms over his chest plate, "Every time you say 'trust me' we end up in big trouble."

Starscream glanced between the others. "We'll get in more trouble if we don't get to the recreation center soon."

"Good point." Skywarp turned and ran towards the far edge of the building. He activated his thrusters at the last possible moment and pushed off the edge, catching a small updraft and soaring with ease to the next rooftop. Starscream bolted after him and did the same. He dropped down past Skywarp and both turned to look at the cringing Thundercracker.

The dark blue youngling's shoulders slumped as he sighed, and he swore for the millionth time that he would never listen to Skywarp's bad ideas ever again. Resigning himself to his guilty fate, he ran for the building's ledge. A few steps before the edge he jumped into the air but did not active his thrusters. Twisting his lithe body into the invisible updraft, his wings effortlessly caught the air current; the gentle eddies swept across the ultra sensitive derma-membrane that covered his precious wings, holding him aloft as if gossamer threads held him up. His fingers barely touched the building's ledge before he was moving again, this time into a graceful handspring over the others. He landed silently behind them in a crouch, his hands touching the roof and splayed outwards in front of him.

Starscream stared at him in awe as Skywarp grumbled. "Show-off."

Inwardly pleased that he made Skywarp mad, Thundercracker strutted towards the next ledge, "Are you two glitch-mice coming or not?"

Not to be shown up by his friend, Skywarp dashed past both younglings for the ledge. He started a string of handsprings before he reached the edge of the rooftop and somersaulted over the span between the buildings. He spotted his landing, but just as his hands were about to touch the rooftop something caught his leg and held him upside-down at an uncomfortable angle. The look of pure horror on Starscream and Thundercracker's faces could mean only one thing. He twisted around enough to catch sight of a black and silver leg. "Aw slag."

"Aw slag is right." Stealthshadow dropped Skywarp on his head and glared at the two younglings on the other building. "Any specific excuses you want to use to explain why you three are up here?"

The black and purple youngling sat up rubbing his head. "We were taking a shortcut to the center."

"A shortcut that put you two breems later than you should be?" The black and silver flier pointed to the ground in front of him. "Front and center. Now."

Thundercracker and Starscream didn't need to be told twice. The two shot across the rooftop and stood stock still in front of the large flier as Skywarp tottered to his feet.

Stealthshadow shook his head in disappointment. "You three just can't follow simple directions, can you? Nebula just told you no flying. Just frakking told you! And you didn't listen. You just had to push the boundaries. Well, now you're going to pay for disobeying us."

Thundercracker shot Skywarp a heated glare. He knew he should not have let Skywarp manipulate him into disobeying, but it was so hard not to, especially when Starscream followed Skywarp's insane need to have fun. Now they would never get to practice again until they were at the Academy, and they would have to start at the very beginning with all the other sparklings.

Starscream edged away from the others. He could feel the anger spilling off of Thundercracker and he did not want to be caught in the middle of whatever might happen.

"You better be at the center before I am, 'Warp." Stealthshadow touched both Starscream's and Thundercracker's shoulders and disappeared in a flash of purple light.

"Frag!" Skywarp disappeared just as quickly and reappeared in the practice room. He would never be able to beat his creator in teleporting speed, but maybe, hopefully, it was an idle threat just to get him to move fast.

The black and silver flier stood there glaring at his creation as the other two got their bearings from the rapid teleport. "Come here, Skywarp."

_Oh, slag._ He was in more trouble than he thought if his creator was calling him by his full name. He shuffled forward nervously, now very afraid of what their punishment would be. Stealthshadow grabbed him roughly by his shoulder and swung him so he was facing away from the larger black flier. Sharp, intruding fingers yanked open the small access panel at the base of his neck where his wings met his body and wrenched the microprocessor that controlled both flight and transformation sequencing free from its designated protoform slot. He yelped loudly and tried to shake free of Stealthshadow's grasp, but it only earned him an optic-watering slap to the head. "I thought you were just going to stop practices!"

"That was before I found you idiots running along the rooftops." The larger flier spun Starscream around and repeated the process on him, minus the slap.

Thundercracker's optics widened in absolute horror as Stealthshadow loomed over him, the microprocessors hanging in his hand by thin, sparking wires. This was it, the end of his dreams of being a flier. He would not feel the caress of the wind on his body again until he had successfully passed into his fourth decamester, and even then, he would be in the starting course with the inexperienced fliers. He whimpered and turned around in defeat; though he knew he could not handle their punishment in a dignified manner, he might as well make this as painless as possible.

Stealthshadow adroitly removed his microprocessor and stashed all three into his subspace pocket, "Sorry, TC, but Nebula warned you. You three just couldn't obey the rules we laid down. We gave you the _privilege_ of flying and you abused it." He pointed at the mats, "Start your warm ups, femmes."

The sullen trio moved over to the training mat and began their morning stretches and warm up exercises. Poisonous glares were sent in Skywarp's direction, who only pouted and rubbed when he had been smacked.

"Good going, aft-head." Thundercracker snarled at Skywarp. "'Trust me. We're not going to get in trouble.'"

Skywarp stuck his tongue out at him, "We wouldn't have gotten in trouble if you hadn't acted like a show-off!"

"Shut up, both of you." Starscream hissed at them with a worried glance to Stealthshadow. "I don't want to get in any more trouble!"

"Trust me. You can't get in any more trouble than you're already in." All three younglings jumped at the sound of his voice. "Back to work." The black and silver flier watched them with a frown as they performed the workout in precision. He scowled in disappointment; he had thought they were mature enough to realize that their wings were a privilege, not a right. Obviously, he was wrong. Ever since the incidents at the hospital, it had become increasingly difficult to keep the trio in line. Especially his own rotten sparkling who had a penchant to dragging the other two into whatever trouble he found. Even the ever-patient Nebula was reaching her wit's end with them.

There was a steady stream of traffic entering and exiting the doors to the recreation center, many passing by and watching the agile younglings in their morning graceful dance. Too many to pay close attention to a single, silent mech.

Stealthshadow stiffened as he felt the muzzle of double-barreled photon rifle at the back of his head. "Reach f'r it, flyboy, or I'll send y'r neural net spinnin' across the room."

He snorted as he recognized the familiar voice, "I'll rip your spark out of your chest before you can pull the trigger."

Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker stopped their warm up exercises and watched on in terror as the black and white mech holding the gun tapped the barrel on the back of Stealthshadow's head.

"Y' could try t', Stealth, but mah electro-disrupter field would stop y' cold."

The black and silver flier smirked, "You want to test that theory, Nightbeat?"

A devilish smile spread across the black and white mech's faceplates, "Y' know y'd lose. I've always been faster than y'."

"Maybe. Maybe I just made you think you were faster."

"Yeah, right." The rifle was dropped and subspaced. "Keep right on dreamin' there, Stealth."

Stealthshadow turned around and playfully shoved the visored mech, "What are you doing on this side of Iacon?"

Nightbeat flashed a disarming smile and pushed him back, "Little o' this an' that. I heard y' hang out 'ere, so I thought I'd drop in an' see y'. Tryin' t' keep up wit' the young ones?"

The black and silver flier motioned to the younglings behind him with his head, "Naw, just training my sparklings."

Nightbeat peered around the flier at the stunned trio and then looked back at Stealthshadow with shock flickering over his visor. "Y' had THREE sparklin's? Primus save us all."

"Only one of them is mine, one belongs to Nebula, and we both have custody of the third." He smirked, "Anyways, I heard you had one, too."

If Nightbeat had heard him, it did not register. The only word that the visored mech focused on was the name. "Nebula? As in Air Commander Nebula? Y' got bonded wit'out tellin' me?"

"No, we're not bonded," Stealthshadow grinned as he inched closer to Nightbeat and dropped his voice conspiratorially, "Not yet, at least."

Grinning madly at the gossip, Nightbeat leaned in, "Y' ask her?"

"Well…" The black and silver flier noticed the younglings had stopped their warm ups, "What are you looking at? There is no more recess for you three. Finish your warm ups and move on to your hand to hand practice!"

Skywarp stuck his tongue out at Stealthshadow the moment he went back to his conversation then turned to face the others. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"Obviously something we're not supposed to know about," Starscream said matter-of-factly. "Come on, TC. Let's practice."

Thundercracker nodded in agreement and took his battle stance in front of the red and silver youngling, "On your mark."

Skywarp sat on the floor in a huff and tried to listen in on Stealthshadow and Nightbeat's conversation. The black and silver flier pulled something out of his subspace and showed it to the visored mech who nodded in silent, smiling approval. The youngling stood up and walked over to take a peek, "What's that?"

The two adults glared at him. "None of your business. Go through your warm ups again."

The youngling crossed him small arms over his chest plate and sighed loudly as he headed back to the others. "Is it my turn, yet?"

"We just started, 'Warp. Be patient."

"I'm _bored_."

"Tough, we're not done yet. Just sit still and try to behave." Thundercracker did not take his optics off of Starscream as they sparred. "Think you can handle that?"

"Why the slag would I want to do that?"

Starscream gracefully dodged Thundercracker's attack. "Because all you've done today is act like a sparkling."

Violet optics narrowed in anger, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Thundercracker dropped his battle stance and glared at the black and purple youngling. "We mean, all you've done is act like a spoiled sparkling."

"I'm not a spoiled sparkling!"

Thundercracker glanced to Starscream who crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance and gave a knowing look back. "You're acting like sparkling, 'Warp."

Skywarp lunged and pushed Thundercracker, "Take it back."

The dark blue youngling held his ground, "No."

He shoved Thundercracker again. "Take it back!"

"No."

He pulled his arm back to throw a punch, but a black and silver hand clamped down on his shoulder. "What the slag do you think you're doing?"

Skywarp angrily glanced around him noticing he had gotten the attention of everyone in the room from his yelling; even Nightbeat was glaring at him disapprovingly. He yanked his arm out of Stealthshadow's grasp and growled a threatening 'Nothing'.

A commanding black finger pointed at the ground. "You're frakking right nothing. You sit your scrawny aft on that mat and don't move until I say so, got it?"

"Whatever."

"Oh, that's it! You have pushed it too far, Skywarp." It was the dreaded cold of his full name accompanied with the glare of Primus on high. "You're grounded. You'll be hanging out in your room instead of with TC and 'Screamer for the next quartex."

Hostile violet optics glared daggers at Stealthshadow, "You can't do that!"

"I can and I did. Now sit your aft down and shut up."

"Fine!" Skywarp flopped to the floor heavily and began to pout.

Thundercracker and Starscream stood rooted to the spot, to afraid to move lest they get grounded too. Stealthshadow glared at them, "Back. To. Work."

They both nodded in unison and jumped quickly back into silent battle stances.

Stealthshadow watched them like a turbo-hawk for a few moments before turning back to his conversation with Nightbeat. "Well, that just made my plans more difficult."

----

Skywarp ran recklessly across the rooftop, pointedly ignoring the pleas of Thundercracker and Starscream to get down before he got into more trouble.

"Losers," He mumbled to himself as he threw himself into a dangerous cartwheel on the building's ledge. He continued his precarious dance along the edge, inwardly smug over the fact that the others would not join him on the rooftop because they were too afraid to get into trouble. He growled to himself as Stealthshadow's vow of grounding replayed in his mind. "He can't ground me. I'll find a way around it. I'll show him, I'll show all of them that they can't keep me down."

He stopped his antics and looked at the next rooftop; the space between the buildings was wider than the others had been, but he could make it. He could do anything he wanted to. Unlike Starscream and Thundercracker, he _wasn't_ afraid of a challenge. He took a few steps back then sprinted for the ledge, leaping at the last possible moment and gliding over the space between the buildings like turbo-hawk diving for the kill. But just as he reached the next rooftop he lost his footing - one of his pedes caught on the rusty gutter, which wilted under his weight.

"Ohslagohslagohslag!" His arms spun in frenzied and ungraceful circles as the gutter bent and pulled loose from the rooftop.

Without a thought to their own safety, Starscream and Thundercracker ran to the fire escape that scaled the building's side and began the furious race to the rooftop. They climbed over the ledge and dove for their flailing friend's arms only to be pulled to the very edge by Skywarp's unbalanced weight in a fast losing battle of tug-of-war between them and gravity.

"Lean forward, 'Warp!"

In a rare moment of brilliance, Skywarp remembered he could teleport and he blinked out of existence in a flash of purple light.

Unfortunately, in his moment of brilliance, he only remembered to teleport himself.

The black and purple youngling reappeared on the rooftop and for the briefest nano-second wondered where Starscream and Thundercracker had gone. His answer came quickly when two loud clangs echoed up from the alley. His optics widened in horror and he dove for the edge only to see the contents of a full trash bin groan and wriggle about sluggishly in the darkened alley.

Thundercracker whimpered as he painfully crawled to the lip of the greasy bin; metal shavings stuck to his body and something rancid smelling dripped from his filthy and dented wings.

Skywarp teleported into the alley and walked up to the bin, sniffing loudly and pretending to wipe tears from his optics, "You came to save me! My heroes!"

Thundercracker's optics flared a feral ruby from the pain, and he screamed as he launched himself out of the bin and attacked Skywarp. The black and purple youngling tried vainly to fend off the furiously sharp blows that rained down on him until a vicious upper cut landed square to his jaw. He shook his head and growled before returning the blue and black youngling's punches with fervor. Sparks flew as the edge of a dark blue wing gouged a furrow in the alley as Skywarp dislodged his attacker. Thundercracker braced himself on one hand and swung a vicious kick at Skywarp's head as he bounced to his feet. Skywarp caught the kick in his gritty hands and used the momentum to try and knock Thundercracker onto his wings, but the dark blue youngling nimbly rebounded in a back spring and rushed at the oncoming Skywarp.

They grappled, snarling and hurling insults at each other. When one faltered, the other took advantage of the situation, clawing and denting derma-plating until another fault was made, the process repeating back and forth with little headway, and neither was able to seriously get the upper hand on the other.

Skywarp dug his fingers into a joint on Thundercracker's bent wing forcing a strangled yelp from the youngling. He grinned triumphantly until Thundercracker retaliated with a sharp kick to his ailerons. He threw a wild fist towards the dark blue youngling's face, but the punch was caught midair and his hand twisted backward. He cried out in pain and grabbed Thundercracker's other wrist, twisting the youngling's arm. Hands were locked and the two combatants panted as they stared each other down. Skywarp lunged and put Thundercracker on the defensive, pushing him back a step. Growling, Thundercracker pushed back. A twisted snarl appeared on Skywarp's dented facial plating as he threw his entire weight at Thundercracker, tightened his grip on Thundercracker's hands. The dark blue youngling retaliated in kind, pushing back as hard as he could… and then Skywarp disappeared, teleporting away. Without Skywarp in front of him anymore, Thundercracker stumbled awkwardly forward.

A purple flash lit up the alleyway as Skywarp reappeared behind his unbalanced friend and landed a vicious kick right between Thundercracker's wings. The youngling toppled to the ground with a cry and Skywarp dove to attack him… but he was stopped as red and blue hellfire dropped from the skies and drove him face first into the ground.

The familiar, bitter sting of energon in his mouth set something off in him as Starscream wiped a filthy hand across his scratched face. His left wing was bent back sharply; the rancid goo that covered Thundercracker ran down his side tainted with streaks of vibrant purple energon.

Skywarp groaned and tried to get to his knees only to get kicked sharply in the side. He coughed in pain and rolled to his left, but Starscream was on him quickly with another vicious kick this time to the chest. The youngling tried to roll away again only to get another solid kick to his side, forcing him flat on his back. He tried to get up and received another kick full in the chest. Realizing that he could not defend himself, Skywarp tried to teleport, but could only cry out in pain as his concentration was broken when Starscream stomped violently on his beat up wings. Starscream did not give Skywarp another chance to teleport as he fell on him and threw punch after punch into his battered friend's face.

He only saw red. It was not Skywarp under his fists. It was pain. Pain that had been buried deep, locked up, the key smelted for scrap to be thrown into the Pit - to be completely forgotten like a bad dream. Yet it broke through all of his defenses, freely released only by the slight taste of his own energon in his mouth. He was yelling something, full of spark-searing hate, but the words were lost in the fiery burn in his vocal processors.

A black arm appeared out of the red haze and wrapped around his neck, pulling him bodily off of Skywarp. Starscream tried to shrug him off, but his new foe held on tightly. He clawed at the arm, scrambling to pull it away from his neck. A black hand reached out and grabbed one of his wrists, twisting it and his arm up and around his back. He shrieked and thrashed, the movement from his wings hitting his attacker and forcing out pained grunts. Nevertheless, the black arm tightened its grip around his neck and his arm was wrenched harder, sending shooting electric pain through his shoulder and giving his attacker more control. He was yanked to the side violently and shoved to the ground. The arm from around his neck grabbed his other wrist and pulled it around to his back as well. Starscream flailed about wildly trying to break the hold placed on him until a knee was shoved into his back with solid weight behind it, effectively pinning him down.

Trapped, Starscream turned his head and screamed in spark-wrenching agony to the heavens.

Ground shaking footsteps echoed in the alleyway as Stealthshadow barreled his way through. He dropped down and shook the screaming youngling who was bodily held down by Thundercracker. Green optics locked on scared violet as the violently thrashing youngling tried to fight the two off of them.

"What the slag happened?!"

Cold fear etched through the energon that oozed down Thundercracker's face.

Stealthshadow's optics shot over to the battered Skywarp who was curled up in a ball crying. He shook Starscream again trying to bring him to his senses. "Starscream. Starscream, calm down. I need you to calm down, Starscream. It's me, Stealthshadow. Look at me. Try to focus on me. Listen to my voice. You're okay. Everything is okay."

Thundercracker slowly released his grip on Starscream's arms as he followed Stealthshadow's prompts. "Ease off his back some, TC. That's good." The larger flier brought the youngling's face up to his, frowning as fuchsia optics darted around wildly. "Starscream. Look at me."

It took a few moments before the youngling was able to focus his optics on Stealthshadow's. He smiled, "Hey. There you are. See? You're okay. We're here, you're here. Everything is going to be just fine."

Still whimpering, Skywarp slowly got to his feet and limped over to the others as the larger flier softly talked the shaking youngling down from the frightening rage.

Stealthshadow glanced at the other two younglings, "You two able to walk on your own?"

Thundercracker painfully got to his feet and nodded as Stealthshadow gently lifted the still quaking Starscream to his feet. "Let's get you guys home."

It was a painful walk back, with strange glances at all four of them from ordinary people traveling down the busy streets. Nebula rushed out of the house towards them, worry and fear plastered over her face like a twisted mask, "Oh Primus! What happened?"

"Long story," Stealthshadow passed Starscream into her waiting arms. "Help me get them inside."

Nebula led them into the house and eased the now catatonic Starscream into a chair in the kitchen. Stealthshadow subspaced a field medic's kit and started pulling out various tools and color-coded cans. "You have a kit somewhere?"

"Right side cabinet, bottom shelf." The dark blue femme gathered a stack of cleaning towels and water and carefully began cleaning the rancid goo from Starscream's side. "Is someone going to tell me what happened?"

Stealthshadow shot a knowing glare at Thundercracker and Skywarp as he pulled out the second medic's kit, "She asked you two a question."

The dark blue youngling glanced at Skywarp who kept his optics glued to the floor in front of him before shifting his gaze to Starscream.

Nebula looked over her shoulder, "Thundercracker, what happened?"

He dropped his gaze shamefully, unable to meet her optics.

"Thundercracker? Tell me what happened."

His spark clenched painfully, but he didn't answer her. He could not answer. He was still trying to process it all. Losing his ability for flight. The fall. The fight. Starscream… He realized at that moment just how scared he was and began to tremble. He bit his bruised lower lip and quietly mumbled, "We got into a fight."

Her optics widened. "A fight with who?"

Thundercracker looked back to Skywarp who was blankly staring at the ground. "With each other."

There was a slight intake of air as she gasped, glancing back and forth between the two younglings. "Why were you fighting?"

He opened his mouth but could not speak, so he just shook his head.

Getting up from the table, Nebula passed the Starscream's care to Stealthshadow and knelt in front of her terrified youngling. She pulled him into her arms and tugged a reluctant Skywarp into the embrace. "It's okay… We're not mad at you."

Skywarp started to sniffle and Nebula hugged them tighter. "Shh, it's okay."

Thundercracker listened to Skywarp cry as Nebula rocked both of them in her arms. He stared at Starscream who sat like a lifeless drone in the chair as Stealthshadow slowly cleaned off the grime and goo. His optics were glassy and dark, functioning but not seeing anything. He began to worry that Starscream was seriously hurt as the older flier started to pull long tendrils of embedded scrap metal out of his wing, but the youngling did not flinch even as Stealthshadow grimaced as the wound.

Nebula let them go to get the kit on the table behind her. "How is he?"

The older flier frowned, "His wounds aren't too bad, but he's in shock. I'll need your help to get his wings straight."

She turned back to the sniffling Skywarp with a yellow marked can in her hands, "Shut your optics and mouth tightly."

He did as told as she sprayed whatever was in the can over his entire face, wincing from the spray's assault. Nebula carefully wiped the area around his optics and plied her thumbs over his face looking for the sources of his wounds. "Don't open your optics yet."

"Muh face ees numb…"

"It'll stop being numb soon. It's hard to clean you up if you're in pain." She mopped away the energon and filth, frowning at the amount of cuts and dents.

"Can you gimme a hand?"

Nebula stood up and walked over to Starscream and Stealthshadow, "You have him ready?"

"Yep. Now I'm going to push forward slowly and I want you to flatten as I go along."

Thundercracker's optics widened in abject horror as he watched the two flier bend Starscream's wing back into place. The sounds of multiple popping strictures being realigned and the crackling and hissing screech of derma-plating being smoothed was too much for him, and Thundercracker purged his fuel tanks onto the floor before he could safely make it to the waste receptacle.

"If you thought that was fun, wait 'til we fix your wings, TC."

He scrubbed his hand violently over his mouth. "My wings are fine. They're just a little dirty, that's all."

"I can't see. What's going on?" Skywarp reached out blindly.

"Stand still. It will wear off any klik now." Nebula said with a cringe as she continued to flatten the youngling's derma-plating.

Thundercracker dry retched as the hellish popping sounds resumed. He slid down the wall to the floor as his head began to swim. He had a massive headache now as the shock of everything that had happened washed over him. He hurt all over, he realized numbly. His fall into the alley and landing in the dumpster had not been gentle. Not that the fight was fun, but the fall was painful.

They were talking again, but he could not focus on their conversation. Stealthshadow had a syringe in his hands and was injecting something into Starscream's neck. He went limp as Nebula gathered him in her arms and carried him upstairs. The older flier was then standing over him saying something, the syringe ready for use again. He could feel the mech's hand on his neck and the tiny prick as the needle entered an energon line, then everything went dark and he knew no more.

---

He was awoken some time later by Starscream whimpering his in sleep.

It took him a moment to get his bearings, but once he realized he was in his room things groggily started to come back. Thundercracker groaned as he sat up and reached to shake his friend out of his nightmare but stopped, afraid he might damage him. Instead, he whispered into the red youngling's audios. "'Screamer, wake up." The only response he got was Starscream curling in on himself and crying, still trapped in his nightmare. He carefully placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and shook him gently. "'Screamer?" Still unsuccessful, he slid off the recharge berth, stepped over the snoring Skywarp on the floor, and quietly headed down the hall to get Nebula.

He stopped at the top of the stairs when he heard their voices down below: Nebula and Stealthshadow were arguing...

"Younglings fight. It's natural for them to have a few scraps -"

"It's not natural when one nearly rips his best friend in to shreds." Nebula was pacing, he could hear the tension and worry in her voice. "What would have happened if you hadn't arrived when you did?"

"TC had Starscream restrained and it would have been a breem or two before he calmed himself down." Stealthshadow's voice was calm and even, "And now TC and 'Warp know what to do in case this happens again."

"And how often will they fight, Stealth? What if one of them ends up seriously hurt? What happens if-"

"I know you're worried about them, Nebula. I am too. Please believe me when I say that. I'll keep wider optics on them."

"I don't think you should teach them to fight anymore. It - It's too dangerous. We don't know what could set Starscream off again."

"If that will make you worry less, then I'll stop. I can keep them busy with homework."

"I don't think they should read anymore about the wars or the Wraith either. I don't want them to try building weapons or play fight using what they've read about."

"...All right. I'll stick to the basics that they'll need for the Academy. Anything else we should change?"

Nebula stopped pacing, "I think things are moving too fast, and - and that it might be putting too much stress on them."

"I don't get it - What's moving too fast?"

The house was deathly silent and Thundercracker leaned forward on his perch, straining to make out any sounds coming from the room below.

"Oh... I see." Stealthshadow's voice was toneless and flat.

"I just think we should wait. I don't want to put them in a situation where-"

"No. I understand. The sparklings come first."

"Stealth..."

The front door opened. "I need some air." The soft click from the front door closing signaled the end of the tense conversation.

The rooms below were quiet once again, and Thundercracker struggled to hear any noise that hinted at what was happening. Kliks passed like joors and he could hear nothing but the loud thumping of his fuel pump.

Then he heard it... the soft sound of Nebula crying.

Carefully, he stood up from his step and silently made his way down the stairs. He peeked into the kitchen and saw her with her head burrowed into her arms on the table. He felt awful - she was upset because of their fight and now she was crying. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her arm.

Nebula looked up suddenly and wiped the tears from her optics, "What's wrong?"

He tried not to look worried about her crying, but he knew he was failing. "Um, Starscream's having a nightmare and I couldn't wake him."

Wearily, Nebula stood up from the table, the tear stains on her cheeks more visible under the light.

Realizing he had to do something to fix this, Thundercracker grabbed her hand and pressed it firmly to his cheek, "You know I love you, right?"

She looked at him and dropped to her knees with a sob. He wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry. Please don't cry."

Nebula buried her head into his shoulder, "I love you, too, dear spark."

---

_A/N: I hope I still have readers after the wait and how this chapter ends. Thanks for sticking by me._

_I wanted to delve into Starscream's PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and what would set it off in a believable manner. I also believe that the events would invoke a numb response from Thundercracker and that Skywarp would be emotional after taking a beating. One of the reasons why it took me so long to publish this was because I didn't think it sounded right and was worried that it came across as corny. I hope it doesn't sound corny._

_I know Nightbeat is a character from the Transformers universe, but I'm using just the name for Stealth's old friend/ex-Wraith buddy and creator of a certain other mech (guess who?)_

_I know the ending isn't what everyone was expecting, but I believe it's necessary for the character development of Nebula and Stealthshadow._

_It won't be as dark next chapter, I promise._


End file.
